One Shot Wonders
by NewmanYHC
Summary: This is a mix of One shots that are going to go on based on what you guys want to read. Each will be about 3000-5000 words long, and if you're interested, your ideas will be the next story! So you have to read them and let me know what you like before I can make more! Ratings will vary for each story. Characters will vary for each story. But it starts with Jace and Clary 1st! Woo!
1. Fights on the Beach

**So I'm starting something new! None of this is going to be a continued story, but if anyone has any One-Shot ideas that they want brought to life, I was going to try to do them for the summer! I don't know how many I can do, but if you have ideas, review about the current ones, leave some comments, and suggest your ideas along with them! I'll read them all and write as many as I can, but it'll be on this "story" so follow to keep up with the different ideas people have if you're curious.**

 **Each chapter will be a different story, so it should be interesting! It can be Jace/Clary, Simon/Isabelle, Alec/Magnus, Jordan/Maia/Bat, or any of the other ones that make sense. So let me know!**

 **But this one is Jace/Clary, based at the beach, fighting and making up because I was just at the beach so why not? Here ya go!**

* * *

Clary woke up alone. The fight she and Jace had the day before had left her to sleep by herself with the door locked in order to keep him out. If she didn't, bad things happened.

Because this wasn't a game. It was a war.

Their relationship was a whirlwind of emotions for the past few years. It was something she loved and hated at the same time. There was never a dull moment, but there were so many moments that were overwhelming that she wondered if she'd even survive.

As quietly as she could, because he had incredible hearing, she slipped out of the door and headed down the hallway of the house they rented on the beach. A vacation was much needed of course, but that also meant she had no Simon, Isabelle, or Magnus to run to for help. She was on her own in California as Jace and she fought it out.

By the time she made it to the living room, Jace had already been gone. There was no sign that he was even there except for the folded sheets on the couch. She frowned at the scene.

And jumped when she heard something in the kitchen. She silently slipped over to the door and poked her head in, watching. Jace was mixing something in a bowl with nothing on but sweatpants. That was part of his game. He used his body to mess with her mind. Well, that wasn't going to work this time. She was determined that if anyone was going to win, it would be her.

"Are you still mad about yesterday?" he asked without looking at her. "Or are you going to stop being so ridiculous and get over what happened?"

She glared at him. "I'm ridiculous? You're the one that was being ridiculous."

"So a girl at the club finds me attractive and I get hit on without flirting back," he added the last part while pointing the spoon at Clary knowingly, "And I'm the one that gets thrown on the couch. I mean, you overreacted."

"Overreacted? Jace, you nearly kissed her."

"But I didn't! And you were grinding up on some guy so what did you expect me to do?" he shrugged and dumped the contents of the bowl onto a saucer on the stove. Pancakes. "I was just playing your little game. I'm not sorry if you couldn't handle it when you started it."

"Screw you, Jace Lightwood."

"You have over and over again, lovely."

"Ugh! God, you're so infuriating!"

He leaned back on the counter as he set the bowl down and faced her. At this angle, his abs were more prominent and his smirk was as sharp as ever. "Babe, you have no idea how sexy you are when you're angry."

That caught her off guard and she lost what she was going to say for a moment. Luckily she found it quickly. "I'm going to the beach. Don't follow me."

He frowned. "What? No breakfast?"

"I'm sure one of the many boys out there has enough food and beer to keep me satisfied," she said with a wink before walking out. Jace's face was a priceless one that she never wanted to forget.

This was the fun in it. Even though she hated the actual conflict, the makeup is what she strived for. The worse the fight, the better they were afterwards. But she wasn't sure how far to take Jace. He'd taken her to the point where she almost broke up with him before, and yet she still loved him with every fiber of her being. But that limit was something she wasn't sure about with him.

Either way, she went upstairs and slipped on her best bathing suit, an all-white one that Jace claimed was 'see through' and grabbed a towel. With nothing else, she headed outside, ignoring the looks Jace gave her as she left.

The beach that morning at ten in the morning was beautiful. The sun was already in the sky. People were parasailing. Others were playing with a football or volleyball. Some girls were tanning. Some were surfing. There was a little bit of everything.

She found a spot in the middle of a crowd, dropping her towel and lying down, closing her eyes. She stretched out and got comfortable as the rays heated her skin. It was like heaven. Then she closed her eyes, and drifted off into a nice, calm rest.

* * *

"Jace!" a giggly woman's voice said as it woke Clary from her slight nap. "Jace, come on! Just one more time."

Clary sat up on her elbows at the sound of the voice. To her right, about forty yards away was her boyfriend. He was in his red swim trunks and had water dripping down his bare chest. His surf board was in his hand as his other hand ran through his hair, pushing it out of his eyes.

She had to stop herself from biting her lip as she stared at him. God, he was hot.

"Ladies," he said with a smirk over the loud waves. "I have to be even, okay? I already gave you a ride, Katherine," he claimed, pointing towards a tall blonde, "So you have to wait. Jessica, you're up."

A brunette broke out of the group and ran up to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. To anyone else, they would think that Jace was a big flirt. Which of course, he was. But as Clary watched Jace deal with the new leech on his chest, his eyes met hers over the distance between them.

And he winked.

The heat in her cheeks began again and then she fought it as she realized that they were still fighting! He still hadn't apologized, and it didn't look like this was much of an apology either.

"Typical," she said with an eye roll.

She turned away from him at that, and a minute later she realized that someone was blocking her sun. When she went to tell them to move, she paused at the familiar shape.

Jace squatted in front of her and reached forward to move her hair from her eyes. She slapped his hand away though. He sighed. "Are you ever going to get over this?"

"Are you going to stop messing with the groupies over there?" she asked, pointing towards the group that was looking at his surf board that he left. "They're expecting you to do a lot more than teach them surf lessons."

He dropped his head. "Clary, come on. This fighting thing is us and all but I'm getting sick of it this time. The only other girl I want on my board is you." He chuckled at his choice of words. "That could be taken any way you want to take it."

"Ugh, just leave."

He didn't and plopped down beside her, leaning on one hand to turn towards her. "Babe–"

"I'm mad at you. Don't call me that."

"Come on, our fights never last this long," he pointed out.

And he was right. They normally didn't. A couple hours and they were almost always back in each other's arms under the bed sheets. But this time, Clary wanted to make a change.

"Maybe I'm trying to make a point."

"Is that point to see who can last the longest?" he asked with annoyance. "Because you're winning."

That little confession made her turn and gaze at him. She could see how this was driving him crazy. It burned in his golden irises.

She wanted to say something smartassy but before she had the chance, he had leaned forward and caught her lips harshly with his. Clary gasped as the forced pushed her back into her towel. His tongue slipped in her mouth as he took everything that he wanted.

At first, Clary couldn't help but respond. It was an instinct. If Jace's mouth was on hers, things just happened without having to think. Her hands would automatically go to his hair. One of his hands always gripped her hip, pulling her towards him. Their chests were always touching and their bodies would line up. But as Jace bit her lip and pulled teasingly, it hit her.

And she shoved him off of her, right onto his butt into the sand.

His mouth dropped open. "Clary, seriously?"

"One," she said holding up her finger. "We're in public. PDA is one thing but we're not making out on the beach where creepy people will get off on that."

"Then let's go inside," he begged, leaning back in for another kiss.

She pushed against his bare chest, holding him back as his heartbeat thud against her fingertips.

"Two," she continued. "You don't get to just kiss me and pretend everything is okay. This is not over, and making out won't end it."

"But–"

"Three, you freak out this time because I'm the one that's mad at you. I normally let it go, but not anymore. So you can deal with it." When she finished, she shoved him a little harder and stood wiping the sand off of her. "I think Jessica is waiting on you."

He frowned and looked back, the brunette waving her hand and beckoning him towards her. He turned back to Clary. "Are you serious?"

"Leave, Jace. I'm busy."

"You're tanning."

"Jace, go."

He didn't at first, but with a frustrated groan, he stood and walked off. Clary peeked her eye open a bit to get a look at him as he stormed off, and she was proud of herself for landing someone so… gorgeous, but she immediately closed her eyes again when he looked back. He wasn't about to catch her checking him out. She knew that if he did, it was game over.

* * *

Jace glanced back over again, watching as another guy walked up to Clary as she tanned on the sand. It drove him nuts that she kept letting them sit with her, fix her hair. He wanted to punch the last guy when he started rubbing tanning oil on Clary's back. That was pushing the line.

But she wanted him to be like this, and he knew it and hated it. Normally, he hid it pretty well. But no fight ever lasted this long and she never did things like this. Any guy ever came up to her, her first words were 'I have a boyfriend'. Now, it was like Jace didn't exist. It was torture.

"Jace, pay attention."

He turned to find… Brittany? Maybe Emily? He wasn't sure. Either way, she was leaning against him with his board, and it was too close for comfort.

"What?" he asked.

She pouted. "You said that you'd take me for a ride. I want to go now."

"I–"

He was cut off when Clary started to laugh. It was a laugh he'd heard a thousand times, a laugh that he caused, and he gritted his teeth, trying to avoid it.

"Okay," he continued. "I can–"

When he heard it again, he turned. And what he saw pissed him off.

This new guy, a tall guy with dark hair and tanned skin, was on top of her. But it wasn't like he was forcing her and she was smiling with him as he held her down lightly, tickling at her sides. She squealed and laughed, and at that, Jace had enough.

"What the fuck?" he asked out loud to no one in particular.

"Jace?" the next girl came up and put a hand on his chest. "Are you okay?"

"Hold on," he siad, his eyes on Clary the entire time. The guy had her hands pinned in one of his, and his body size was able to keep her down and controlled. It was the exact posistoin that he always held her down in, the one that he knew she secretly loved, and he was about to lose his mind watching someone else hodl her like that.

He was about five feet away when he yelled "Hey, Jackass!" at the dark headed guy and just as he looked up, Jace tackled him with full force, knocking the guy into the sand.

"Jace!" Clary shouted. "What the hell are you doing?"

There were punches. There was pushing. There was pulling and grabbing and cheap shots to the groin and knees to the stomach and elbows to the face as Jace and this mystery man fought it out.

"What the hell, man?" the guy exclaimed when eh was able to push Jace off and roll away, standing to his feet.

Jace jumped up quickly, sand covering his body and chest. "That's my girlfriend you're messing with, you dick."

"Sebastian wasn't doing anything," Clary said as she ran up, standing between the two. Her hands came up, pushing at Jace's chest. She knew that if she so much as touched Sebastian to hold him back, Jace would lose it. "We were just having fun. You don't have to be so defensive."

"Dude, I didn't know she had a boyfriend," Sebastian said, holding his shoulder that Jace had twisted earlier. "Seriously, she didn't tell me."

"Sounds like her," he growled, glaring at Clary.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, calm down. We just wrestled a little bit. It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?!"

"Fuck this, I'm out of here," Sebastian said before raising his hands and walking away.

Jace and Clary were now alone on a crowded beach, a few people still interested in what was happening.

But Clary was annoyed with it. "Seriously? You just start a fight because you don't get your way? Jace, you're twenty-two years old, not a child."

"Says the one who has the maturity level of a puppy right now," Jace shot back. "I mean, really? You let him hold you and touch you like that, and you seriously think that I would just let it happen?"

"We were just playing around." She shoved him in anger, pushing him back in the sand. "I mean, how is it any different than when you've got those girls hanging all over you on the waves."

"Because I'm staring at you the entire time!" Jace shot back.

Clary's eyes widened at that, like it shocked her to believe that he actually paid attention to her when those girls were around. Her eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open, but Jace wasn't done.

"Every time I'm up there on a wave, I catch myself looking at you. I see you here, no matter how many of them are with me. And then, with you, some other guy comes around and suddenly, I'm invisible. I mean, Clary, that sucks. It fucking hurts and you seem to not have any problem with just replacing me. Am I really that unimportant to you?"

"What?" she practically yelled. "No!"

"That's how it fucking seems!"

"I–" she realized that nothing she could say could validate anything. She was still going to try. "Jace, you make it seem like when they're with you, I'm invisible. I just…"

He stepped forward and grabbed her, pulling her towards him without another word. She let him despite the sand that covered the two of them now, pressing their hot skin against each other. Her cheek was against his chest, and she could feel his heart beating at a hundred beats per minute. This was new. Normally when they made it, it was rough and harsh. This was… not.

He kissed the top of her head, rubbing her bare back slowly. "Can we just forget that all this happened? Last night, right now. The fight. The surf lessons. Sebastian. Can we just drop it?"

Clary nodded, kissing his chest lightly. "Actually, can we go back into the condo?"

He pulled back and looked at her, a smile forming on his face. "Come on." He reached down, grabbed the back of her legs and swung her over his shoulder.

Clary squealed and playfully hit his back. "Jace! Let me down."

"Not yet."

It wasn't until he had practically ran and kicked his way into the condo, passed the living room and bedroom and hit the bathroom before he dropped Clary in the shower.

He immediately turned it on, but it was cold water and Clary jumped back into his embrace. "Jace, the water is freezing!"

"I know," he chuckled, pushing her back towards it.

Luckily, it didn't take long until the water was warmed up and spraying on their bodies. The sand dripped off until they were nothing but smooth, tanned skin and bathing suits. Clary and Jace smiled at each other in the comfort, and Jace slowly pulled the two together until their lips touched.

It had been about 14 hours since they kissed, and this was glorious. Jace hadn't realized how quickly he could miss her, but this was proof. She was everything he wanted, and he wanted to prove that to her this time. He'd proven it before, but this fight was different.

He moved until she was pushed up against the wall of the shower, her hands in his hair and his on the skin of her sides and stomach. Clary bit his lip and he opened her mouth with his tongue, forcing a battle between the two. Neither one ever really dominated the other in that aspect, but there were a few rare times that Jace or Clary would put a little extra in there. Jace did this time, and it had Clary gripping his hair even tighter. He hoped that was just to stay on her feet.

He dropped his mouth to her neck, kissing at the salt and water that dripped off of her skin. Her hands roamed his body and moved down his shoulders, the moans and noises she made coming out even louder than the shower water hitting the tiles.

"Jace, the bed," Clary moaned.

He nodded and grabbed the back of her thighs. She jumped, getting the message and wrapped her legs around his waist. He kicked the door of the shower open, sliding it clumsily and leaving the water running as he basically ran to the bed.

Being none too gently because he knew she loved it, Jace tossed Clary a good five feet towards the bed. She chuckled and beckoned him towards her after she landed, reaching for him. He followed suit, sliding on top of her, their wet skin rubbing against each other.

"Are you still mad?" Jace asked, kissing at the sweet spot on her neck.

Clary gasped as she tried to hold onto her voice. "Furious."

He smiled into her skin and reached behind her, untying the top of her of her bikini and sliding it off. She smiled up at him as he pushed himself to his hands, staring down at her. "You don't look mad."

"Just come here," she growled and yanked him back to her.

This is what always happened. They fought. They made up. They made love. They were happy. And then they fought again. It was something that they both enjoyed, because they need something out of the ordinary. They need the uncertainty, but they need the certainty that they'll always been one another's at the same time. NO one understood it but them. No one understood the other like they did.

People thought they were crazy. In reality, they were just crazy in love.

* * *

 **So again, most of these ideas are going to be by you guys. Let me know what you thought of this one, your idea, what you want the rating to be, esc. It's up to you, and I will write as many as I can to the best of my ability.**

 **So stay tuned! :) your idea could be next.**


	2. Public Announcement

**Thanks for the few reviews from you guys :) This is what a guest put up and wanted me to write about: _It would be interesting to see an AU where Clary and Jace are both famous and one of them wants their relationship to be public while the other doesn't want anyone besides their close friends to know :)_**

* * *

SPRING 2015

Jace glanced out the window at the fans below him. He smiled a waved, causing screams and yells and smiles to beam up at him. He loved it. He loved being famous. He loved the attention. He craved it and fed off of it, all the girls and the fame was something he always wanted. And he got it.

But sometimes it was hard. His family had trouble seeing him sometimes. He wished that he could just leave his house without security to see them in New York, but the paparazzi or the fans don't really allow that.

The hardest part about being a famous actor… the girlfriend.

"Are they ever going to leave?"

He sighed as Clary sat up on the bed, staring at her phone with a frown on her face. "They could be there for hours or days."

"I have to leave to get to the studio eventually," she pointed out.

Of the two of them, she was the one that was more worried about the public eye. She liked the privacy without the questions. When she went to interviews, she didn't want questions about her boyfriend, or her family. She wanted to talk about her music and her inspirations. That was the issue, the only issue between them.

Jace wanted the world to know. Clary wanted to keep it a secret.

"We got in here without you being seen, but I don't know how easy it'll be to get you out the same way."

She groaned. "Magnus is going to kill me if I'm late to recording again."

Jace slid from the window and pulled the blinds closed, leaving them in complete privacy. He walked over to the bed, pressing his lips to Clary's neck. She was dressed in black jeans and a green shirt that made her eyes sparkle. He pushed her hair aside, causing her to tilt her head at the same time.

She moaned and turned, leaning into him as their lips connected. Jace gripped her hips and pushed her back on the bed, letting her fall under him. His thumbs rubbed circles in her sides where her shirt rode up, and her hands traced the few scars on his bare back from athletic injuries here and there.

"Just because Magnus likes you doesn't mean you get to keep me forever," she mumbled into his lips with a smile to her voice.

He smiled back, kissing her again before pressing their foreheads together. "He can deal with me keeping you for one more day."

"Not with the way the album is going. We're having trouble writing, and I really need to be there to help."

He shook his head, pressing his face into her neck. "Would you rather write songs or stay with me?"

"You know the answer," she groaned.

"So don't go. The fans can't see you in here if you stay."

"Jace…"

"Clary," he teased.

She sighed and relaxed under him as his lips slowly started to play with the skin of her neck. His hands reached up and intertwined their fingers, pulling both her hands above her head, locking her beneath him.

"You're insatiable," she chuckled when he kissed her again, holding her at his mercy.

"You love it."

Just at that moment, there was a knock at the door. They both froze at first, because if they were seen then all hell would break loose, even if it was just a housekeeper. But when the door opened, somehow unlocked, and Simon walked in with the rest of Jace's management team, they both relaxed.

But they didn't move off of each other.

Simon noticed and groaned. "Seriously? We have shit to get done and you two are canoodling?"

"Whatever it is, it can wait," Jace claimed.

"I'm afraid not," Simon shot back. "We have an interview with Ellen in three hours. Clary," he turned and pointed towards her, "We're leaving in thirty minutes. The fans should pretty much depart after that, but we have a new outfit for you ready and Meliorn said he can drive you over to the studio without you being seen. So you should be good."

Jace rolled his eyes and slid off of her. "If everyone just knew, we wouldn't have to be so secret." He didnt mean to really say it out loud, but it slipped out occasionally like that.

Clary glared at him, annoyed with it once again. "Jace," she warned.

He threw his hands up and stormed into the bathroom. Maybe he was being dramatic, but he really hated the secrecy.

* * *

"So maybe I've mentioned Finding Nemo a few times, once or twice," Ellen claimed to her crowd. "But really? Monster's Inc. was so a decade ago, so it's about time Dory got the attention she deserved."

Jace couldn't help but let out a chuckled. With the movie announced last year, she was still on about it. Jace found it funny how she got excited about her own movie, but he couldn't stand to really watch any of his own. He found it weird, seeing himself on screen. Sure, he was cocky and all and loved to talk about it, but watching yourself kill people is... weird.

"So who has heard of the new movie, Dark Warriors?"

Screams, yells, hoots and hollers from the audience. That's what erupted.

"Well, please welcome, one of the biggest stars of that upcoming movie, Jace Herondale!"

He stepped out, waving and smiling got the fans. Ellen stood, coming up to him as they danced to the music, something that she always did and he didn't mind doing. They danced, he spun her and lifted her into the air since this has to be their third interview together. They were pretty relaxed around each other.

They finally moved towards their seats, waiting a few extra seconds before they sat, the music cutting off as soon as Ellen's butt hit the cushions.

She fixed her top and looked at him. "Jonathan Christopher Herondale, long time, no see?"

He nodded, leaning back against the sofa casually. "Yup. But as everyone knows, I pretty much go by Jace. You of all people know that, Ellie."

With a wink at the nickname, she asked, "What started that anyway?"

He was going to say that when he met Jonathan, Clary's sister, he found it was easier to just go by Jace for more than one awkward reason. But then he realized that he couldn't say that. He couldn't say anything about her or she'd panic. He internally groaned at that, hating the secrecy.

But he put on a smile and a shrug. "I guess it started when I was around the high school age. It was just a nickname that came up in the business when I started acting a young age. It was common on my football team too, so it just stuck after the years."

"Even at that young age, I've never seen so many people interested," Ellen said with a laugh. "I may be gay, and married, but even I can say that you're… you're just… wow."

The crowd erupted at that, causing Jace to smile none-too-shyly. His head tilted back with a little laugh.

"I mean, look at this," Ellen said, pointing towards the screen. Jace was confused at first, until a shirtless picture of himself from his new movie coming out showed up.

He was sweaty, with a gun in hand, his shirt off, and a bit of blood dripping down his shoulder with a burning building in the background of a warzone-like New York City. Honestly, he knew he was hot, and the shouts from the women in the crowd proved his point as well. Even Ellen made a face at him, and he really just tried not to let his laughter get out of control.

"Explain," she said with a smile.

Jace leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and a smile on his face. "I mean, it's pretty self-explanatory. In the movie, stuff blows up, I shoot people, and it's hard to keep a shirt on."

A few whoops and screams from the crowd agreed with him.

"But," Ellen continued, "why? Did the director just look at you and cut your wardrobe down to nothing but pants?"

Jace smiled at that too. "Like I said, fabric doesn't really hold together after explosions. There were a few shirts thrown here and there but..."

"Probably by women who took them right off of you," Ellen said with a smirk. "Speaking of women…"

Jace knew this was coming. It had been about six months since his last interview, mainly because he's been working on the movie and helping with post-production details, but he knew that the 'girlfriend' aspect, especially after being off the grid for so long, would come up.

"Any word on the romantic front? Maybe with…" Ellen looked at the screen and Jace froze for a moment. He thought that he was caught with Clary, but his co-star, Aline Penhallow, showed up instead. "This beautiful one?"

Jace smiled but shook his head. "Aline and I are just really good friends."

"I've seen scenes from the movie," Ellen insisted. "That's either great acting, or great chemistry. I know that you flunked out of science in school."

The crowd laughed and Jace just shrugged. "I'm very intelligent, thank you," he shot back playfully.

Ellen raised her hands in defense. "I'm sure you were.." Giving the crowd a sarcastic shake of the head.

"I mean, Aline and I have been friends for a while. We've both been in the business of acting since we were teenagers, and we know how to be professional while still putting on a good show."

"So nobody special?"

He almost said yes, but he shook his head in time. "Not really. I'm just enjoying being single, living my life as a twenty-two year old guy I guess. It's nice with the freedom."

"As long as we don't see you stumbling out of night clubs at four A.M." she teased sternly.

Jace winked. "I'm out of there by three, don't you worry. Work and all that."

Ellen nodded and laughed, looking back at the audience. "We'll be right back with Jace Herondale to talk more about the new movie, Dark Warriors, and to play a little game you're not going to want to miss. We'll be right back."

* * *

Clary turned down the volume as soon as it went to commercial, turning away from the TV and back to her writing crew in the studio. This consisted of Magnus (her manager and song writer as well), Isabelle (her stylist), Eric (her drummer), and Jordan (her guitarist). A few of the band was missing, but they play more than write.

And every one of them was staring her down in the circle they sat in. She stared right back. "Is there a problem?"

"He's dying to say something," Isabelle said instantly. "And you're making him hold back. You know, your relationship can't be secret forever."

Clary shrugged. "I don't want the media asking questions. Is that so bad?"

"You can make a relationship public while still having privacy. You don't have to make things so difficult," Isabelle said.

"Guys," Magnus announced, looking at Eric and Jordan, "take five. We want to talk to Clary privately."

She internally groaned as half her band left, leaving her 2 against 1 in the small recording room. She spun nervously on her stood, almost avoiding eye contact completely.

"You're being ridiculous," Magnus stated.

"And you're hurting him," Isabelle added.

"There's going to come a time when he's had enough."

"And you'll lose him if you don't realize that soon."

"Because he wants the world to know about you two."

"And keeping it inside is going to eat him from the inside out."

"Can we not?" Clary butted in, glaring at the two of them. "My relationship with Jace is exactly that. MINE. Not yours. The media would be acting just like you guys, trying to tell me what I should do all the time, placing doubt in my head, trying to break us up and I don't want that. I'm trying to help our relationship, not hinder it."

"You're suffocating it," Magnus said.

Clary's green eyes darted to his with a hard stare. "Shouldn't you worry about the fact that Alec hasn't come out to his parents about your relationship yet?"

"That's it," Isabelle said, standing to her feet. "You, come with me."

She grabbed the sleeve is Clary's shirt, pulling her out the door roughly. Clary actually bumped into the wall, complaining and pulling at Isabelle's grip. She failed miserably, and they made it to the bathroom before Isabelle threw her inside.

To anyone else, this would look like a bully situation, but this was the tough love that Isabelle was capable of giving. Clary wasn't a fan of receiving it either.

"Okay," Clary said slowly. "That was a low blow, I get it."

Isabelle nodded, leaning back against the door in her black leather, looking intimidating. "I almost slapped the shit out of you. You have no right to talk about my brother like that."

"But–"

"Clary, I'm serious. You've been acting bitchy for the past few weeks, and Magnus and I are getting sick of it. I don't know what your problem is, but you need to go home and straighten it out right now. I'm over it, and I'm not afraid to quit either. I have other offers. Magnus has other offers. We stay with you because we love you and we all worked well together but if you're going to be bitchy and snappy, you can find yourself a new team."

And with that she stormed out, leaving Clary alone in the bathroom with her thoughts.

* * *

Clary's leg bounced in her jeans in the back of the Range Rover. Her driver was taking her somewhere that she'd never dare been before, mainly because of paparazzi and fans, but what Isabelle said really stuck to her. And she wanted to see Jace.

She had to see Jace.

The car stopped at his gate, and she thanked the driver and got out. Instantly, a camera flash blinded her in the dusk light. She'd been used to it and made her way to the gate.

"Clary! Clary Morgenstern!" one of the paps yelled at her. "What are you doing at Jace Herondale's house? Is there something going on between you two? Are you just friends? How did you two meet? When did you meet? How long have you been together?"

By the time she got the gate open, three different paps with cameras were on her but she slipped through the gate and shut it without answers, practically running towards his front door. She found it harder to be honest than she wanted. All she had to say was that she and Jace were together, but her mouth and her mind wouldn't cooperate with one another.

She knocked on the door, praying that Jace was here and that he'd be able to save her from the zoom lens cameras. After what felt like ages, the door opened to reveal:

"Alec," Clary breathed in relief, "Let me in!"

He side stepped as she burst in the door, slamming it quickly. He stared at her with wide eyes. "Um, Clary? Are you okay?"

"Where is Jace?"

"He's coming back from Ellen's studio," he explained. "There were some fans outside his gate over there, and you know how he is. He won't leave until he's seen, talked to, and had pictures with every last one of them. It's something you two have in common."

That was true. If there was anyone that they loved other than each other, it was their fans.

She took a deep breath, running her hand through her curls. "I guess I'll just wait then."

"You want something to drink?"

"Vodka," she said honestly. "Please."

He gave her an odd look but nodded, heading towards the kitchen of the big house.

Clary moved towards the living room, plopping down on the couch with a headache. Today was a mess, starting with waking up in Jace's hotel room. That shouldn't have happened, but it did. That was as good a chance as any to open up to the world, but she wouldn't.

Alec stepped back into the living room with a cup of vodka and orange juice, handing it to her. "You might want to check Twitter. Search the Clace hashtag."

That was all he said before he walked back to the kitchen.

Clary did as he instructed, unlocking her phone and immediately seeing tweets, Instagram posts, and tumblr talks.

 _CLARY IS AT JACE'S HOUSE. I REPEAT: CLARY MORGENSTERN IS AT JACE HERONDALE'S HOUSE. THE PAPARAZZI SAW HER. #Clace #HOLYSHIT #ICANT_

 _Does anyone even know why she's there? How are they even friends? I won't believe anything until they say something #Clace #Confusedasshit #Whatishappening_

 _Are they dating? Oh my god! That's my new OTP! It's official. I give no fucks about anyone else. #Clace #Perfect #Ihopeitstrue_

 _It's like that movie… Shit! What was it called? The mortal instruments or something? I don't know but I like it. #Clace_

 _Honestly, I don't know if it would work between them. Even if it is true, they're a weird couple. Jace and Clary? This #Clace thing is ridiculous._

 _Can't you guys not blow up the internet about this? I mean, don't celebrity couples hate coming out because of things like this. Leave #Clace alone._

She wasn't sure how long she was on her phone, or how she realized that the door opened and shut, or that Jace was even in the vicinity. Her drink was completely gone and she was a little light headed but still completely functional. All she knew was that she on her back on the couch, and then her phone was plucked from her hands and replaced with Jace's face.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She wasn't sure what to say. "I really have no idea."

"You caused a lot of trouble today," he admitted. His golden eyes glanced to her phone, and he realized what she was doing. "And since when do you search hashtags or even get on twitter?" He put her phone on the coffee table and lifted her legs, setting them in his lap as he sat on the couch. He eyed the empty glass of vodka and orange juice. "Clary, what is going on?"

She shrugged, draping her arms across her eyes. "I've had a weird day."

"What happened?"

"Isabelle and Magnus almost quit and walked out on me."

"What?" His eyes were wide when she peeked a glance at him. "What happened? Why?"

"Because…" she lifted her hands, playing with her fingers. "Jace, does it really hurt you that bad that I want us to stay secret?"

"It's not as secret as it was before now."

"You know what I mean."

"Why does it matter?" he asked. His thumb rubbed circles on the jeans against her calf. "I mean, you've got me worried. You said you didn't want it out there, so I never put it out there."

She lifted herself onto her elbows, staring him down. "But you've wanted to?"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair before meeting her gaze. "I've wanted to for a long time."

"Well…" she sat up and moved until she straddled him on the couch, her arms around his neck and his around her hips. "Let's do it."

"What?"

"Let's tell people. I could tell that it hurt you today when you couldn't say you were with me to Ellen. And yeah, sometimes I wish that people knew so they'd stop asking me when I'd find a boyfriend or where my inspiration comes from. I want people to know that you inspire my songs and make me laugh and smile like I do." She pressed her forehead to kiss, kissing him softly once. "I've thought about it since I left the studio, and I didn't really care when the paps saw me earlier. Some of my fans just want the truth, and I guess that you're right. Hiding stuff from them for a while makes sense, but everyone will find out eventually."

He just stared at Clary in shock for the longest time. Then without warning, he kissed her. And he really kissed her, the kind of kiss that she could feel to her toes and made her body just fall against him because she felt on fire. Her hands moved to his hair just to have something to grip onto, and he was able to maneuver them enough to the point that she straddled him as he lied on the couch, looking up at her.

Her hair fell down around them like a curtain, concealing their love from the rest of the world like they've done naturally for so long.

"Are you sure about this?" Jace asked, rubbing her cheek as he looked up at her. "I mean, you're not doing this for me, are you?"

"I love you, Jace," she claimed instantly. "That's why I'm doing it."

He beamed under her, a smile as bright as the sun. "I love you too." He kissed her again, soft and sweet and slow before pulling away. "But Clary–"

"Would you stop?" she said with a slight laugh. That much was able to lift his doubts and show him that she really did mean it. "I actually wouldn't mind if the rest of the world knew you were taken."

"I knew there was selfish reason in there somewhere," he shot back. "You just want me for yourself."

She winked, bent down, and pressed their lips together. The buzz that she had from the vodka was starting to really press on her, and it caused her to lean into Jace as much as possible, their bodies lining up on the couch.

His hands found their way under her shirt, touching the soft skin of her stomach and her sides. She shivered and reached for his shirt, tugging it up. But before she got it over his head, there was the sound of a voice clearing.

They both froze, instantly thinking it was the paparazzi out of instinct, but when they looked up, Alec had Clary's phone and was typing.

Clary frowned. "What are you doing here?"

"I never left," he pointed out, his eyes staying on her phone.

"Um, what are you doing with my phone?"

"A favor." He walked over and dropped the phone onto the couch. "You're welcome."

They both sat up, Clary still straddling Jace but she turned the phone so they could both see it, staring at the screen.

It was a picture on Instagram. It had Jace and Clary from a few minutes earlier, Clary's legs on Jace's lap with both of them looking deeply into each other's eyes as Clary was up on her elbows. They were talking, but it was obvious that it was a 'more than just friends' kind of thing.

Jace chuckled. "He must have been sick of it too."

She sighed and read the caption under it.

 _Let's face it, I can't keep a secret. xxx_

Clary rolled her eyes. "Alec makes this sound like some kind of scandal. And on my Instagram, no less. The world is about to blow up."

"At least this way, it seems like we haven't been together for long," Jace said, kissing her cheek. "Check out some of the comments."

"Do I really want to?" she asked, locking her phone and looking Jace in the eye. "I mean, they could be really harsh."

"Your fans aren't like that."

"That doesn't mean your fans won't blow up on me. They can be protective over you, to the point that it's' a bit extreme."

He frowned and a bit of anger flashed across his face. "My fans aren't evil or dangerous or destructive. They just care about me, and I care about that, and that comment was a bit of a low blow."

She nodded once, dropping her head to his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I'm just scared."

He reached up and held her close, lying back down on the couch. They just held each other, holding on tightly.

Jace's thumb rubbed circles in her back as he spoke. "Clary, I love you. You've known that for a while, and I think this is for the best. I know you're scared, but I want you to know that we can get through the initial shock, and then we won't have to hide. We can go on dates. I can take you to dinner." He moved his lips to her ear. "I can kiss you in public any freaking time I want, for how long I want, and I don't care who sees us."

She blushed at that. "You're an ass," she chuckled, hiding her face in his neck.

"Well, the world knows that I'm yours, so you can call me what you want, but you're stuck with me."

* * *

They stayed like that for a while, just cuddling and they eventually fell asleep just like that. It wasn't for long, because Clary's stomach started growling, waking her up and telling her that she ran from the studio and never actually ate dinner. And vodka isn't exactly a filling drink.

She slowly pushed off of Jace's chest, running a hand through his hair. "Jace," she groaned in a tired voice. "Jace, wake up."

His eyes shut tighter as he stretched his arms above his head and yanwed. It gave her a good view of his body, and when he stopped and their eyes met, Clary blushed uncontrollably about being caught.

Jace just smiled. "So, tell me something."

"What?"

"Are we public?" he asked. "Because I think I had a dream where we finally announced our undying, unconditional, uncontrollable love for each other."

She rolled her eyes. "Dramatic much?"

"I love you," he whispered honestly and deeply, leaning forward and kissing her cheek. It caught her off guard, and she found herself still above him as he pulled away quickly. "You do know that, right?"

Finally, after a few minutes of confusion, she nodded. "I do. And I'm sorry it took me so long to realize that it would be okay if people knew. I hate the fact that I made you go through that."

He shrugged with one shoulder. "I don't care about that anymore. Everyone knows that you're mine now."

Her phone started buzzing at that, and they both glanced towards the coffee table to see Magnus' name pop up on Clary's phone. She slid it to answer and put it on speaker. "What is it, Mags?"

"Now that your little scandal is out, and I hate to be the person to cockblock or interrupt, but… we do have an album that needs to be completed."

She sighed. "Yeah, I'm sorry I ran out."

"We threatened to quit, it's understandable."

Jace chuckled. "She'll be over in an bit."

"Don't hold her hostage, Herondale," Magnus said sternly. "I can ruin your reputation so fast that you won't even be able to blink before your life is a shithole."

She rolled her eyes and whispered into Jace's ear, "Don't worry. He wouldn't." That calmed Jace's worried demeanor. "But first," she said louder, "I'm hungry."

"Dinner?" Jace asked with a smile. "We can actually go out now, no more ordering pizza and being careful about who answers the door."

She smiled at the thought. "I love you."

He smirked back. "I love you too, for the whatever hundredth time."

"You two are cute," Magnus said. "But be cute enough to be here in an hour. I mean it, Clarissa."

"Jackass," Jace said and pulled her lips to his one more time, and they were both a little too ecstatic about the announcement, that it actually took them an hour just to leave the house… but what can you do? They were happy, and no one was going to call and ruin that.

Not even Magnus dared a call for a second time.

* * *

 **Hopefully these are living up to the expectations! Let me know if it is, or if its totally pointless..**

 **But thanks for reading! Keep the suggestions coming, por favor.**


	3. Best Friends

**The comments are great you guys! I've got a lot of suggestions coming in, so I hope I can do as many as possible but I'm sorry if I can't get to your suggestions. They're very interesting though, and I can't thank you guys enough for reading these and being excited for them!**

 **So this is the next one. It was a lot of different suggestions, but it was pretty simple and open to my own interpretation. Hopefully, I did it justice:  
**

 **"Something really cliche and typical...like Clary and Jace being best friends or something and then falling in love..."**

 **Here you go guys!**

* * *

7:39 P.M.

 _Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii – J_

 _Seriously? You have nothing better to do than to bug me? – C_

 _No. You're my entire existence, oh special one. In case you forgot, you're stuck with me for life, whether you like it or not. – J_

 _You're an ass. I'm turning my phone off. – C_

 _Rude. – J_

8:53 P.M.

 _Question! – J_

 _Answer! – C_

 _Well, that answers whether you turned your phone off or not. Anyways, when you look in the mirror in the morning, what's the first thing you think of? – J_

 _What? – C_

 _Just answer the question, Clary! – J_

 _I guess how my hair looks like a rat's nest? – C_

 _That didn't sound too confident. J_

9:03 P.M.

 _What's the most unusual conversation you've ever had? – J_

 _You're really throwing me off right now. – C_

 _Just answer the question woman! – J_

 _There was the time when you asked what my, and I quote, "fucking problem" was when I was on my period freshmen year. And then you proceeded to ask all those so many questions about it. – C_

 _Oh yeah! That was a fun day. Although I know more than I ever wanted to… Seriously, your detail was uncalled for. – J_

 _You asked. – C_

 _You didn't have to answer – J_

9:41 P.M.

 _What was your last dream about? – J_

 _Jace, seriously, what has been wrong with you? First you're clingy and these questions are random as hell. Are you drunk? – C_

 _You don't text me back, so what else am I supposed to do to keep the conversation going? – J_

 _I'm busy! That's why I'm not texting you back, you idiot – C_

 _Doing what? – J_

 _Drawing – C_

 _Can I come over? – J_

 _Sure? As long as this weird attitude will end and you'll be quiet. Jesus. – C_

 _You love it. Don't lie. – J_

* * *

I sat on my bed after that last text, waiting for my best friend to show up at my window. My friendship with Jace has been long lasting and the best thing in my life, but sometimes I wondered why he got into these weird funks.

Like right now. He's normally always got a girlfriend. In fact, there are only a small handful of times that I remember that he's been single. And when he's single, he's so clingy with me. He'll text me, and call me, and want to hang out all the time. And I mean, I'm his best friend so I don't mind, but I'm an artist! I like my personal space!

I looked up as the knock on the glass that I was waiting for sounded. Jace stood outside my window, a smile on his face and a hat on his head.

My house, in case you didn't know, was all one story. My mother wanted a ranch kind of set up, so sneaking into my room wasn't hard. Jace just had to walk up to the window and knock. It also made it easy for me to sneak out. The trust my mother put into me was a bit surprising at times.

I pointed to the lock and he got the message, lifting the window and sliding inside. "You shouldn't keep it unlocked all the time. You never know when someone will try to break in."

"Like you have on so many occasions?" I teased with a smirk.

He shut the window behind him and shrugged, throwing himself on the bed with my old middle school sketchbook in his hand. "I meant people you don't want in here."

"Who says I wanted you in here?"

"Ha. Ha. Ha."

"So is everything okay?"

"Yeah."

"Jace, are you sure?"

"Yup."

I looked up from my drawing of the sunset to really study him. He was on his stomach, his body lying down with his head at the foot of the bed. His curls were falling in his eyes. His white t-shirt was rumpled and a few holes were in it. He was immaculate about certain things, but his sleep shirt hadn't changed in the past three years for some reason.

I never knew why.

But something was definely off. He was studying my sketches too hard almost. Like he was searching for something.

So I stood and moved towards my bed in my tank top and shorts. Jace didn't look at me as I lied down next to him on my back, staring at my ceiling for a while. And after I felt enough time had passed, I turned my head, looked at his face, and asked:

"Are you going to tell me or did you just want to stay the night?"

He sighed and ran a hand through his curls. "I don't know."

"Is it Aline?"

He shook his head.

"Alec or Isabelle?"

"No."

I rolled onto my side and propped myself up on my elbow. "Then, Jace, what is going on? What's got you so upset? You can hide your emotions during a text but you can't hide it when you're right in front of me."

"Can I just stay here tonight? My parents have some stuff going on and I was just wondering if you could help me just stay away for a while. That's all."

I nodded and reached forward, running my hand through his curls. It was always something that helped him calm down and relax. "You know you don't have to ask."

"You trust me with too much you know."

"I don't have a reason not to," I said with a small smile.

He shrugged one shoulder and looked down at me, grabbing a strand of my hair and playing with it absentmindedly. "I thought I could trust my parents, you know? You think that if you can trust anyone, it's the people that created you."

"Jace, you don't have to explain."

"I need to talk about it eventually. And you're the only person I'll tell anyway."

I wanted to protest, but I just nodded.

He took a deep breath. "They're getting a divorce."

" _What_?"

"Not officially yet," he added. "But they've been fighting so much and arguing about nonsense and I'm seventeen. I'm not an idiot. I can tell when a couple shouldn't be a couple anymore. It's inevitable."

I rolled to my side, propping myself and reaching for his hand. He squeezed my fingers as soon as they slid into place. "Jace, I'm so sorry."

He chuckled halfheartedly. "It's not your fault."

"You know what I mean."

"But I don't know why you say it. You aren't forcing my parents to split, so saying that you're sorry is pointless. I just…" He dropped his head to our entwined hands. "I just wish things were different."

It was quiet for a moment, before I realized that he just needed to rest. He needed to sleep. He was exhausted. And even though it was barely ten o'clock, I could go for some sleep too.

"Come here."

I moved ourselves until we were under the sheets, my head resting on his chest and his arms around my waist. He was warm and soft but hard at the same time. His heartbeat drummed against my ear like my own little lullaby, and I hugged his softly.

"I love you, Clary," he said with a small squeeze to my side.

I smiled and hugged my best friend even tighter. "I love you too."

* * *

There was always something inside of me that wanted more than what Jace and I had. I won't lie. I'm being completely honest but I didn't know if it would ever pass or not. I wanted to be friends and never mess it up, but it was also times like this that I wanted… well…

His hand was around my waist, under my shirt, flat against my lower back. We were turned to face each other in the early morning, our arms wrapped around each other with my head tucked under his chin.

He was warm and welcoming, and always has been. But there was nothing more that I could do, because it would just be weird, right? I mean, this was Jace. This was my best friend of years. I helped him with girl issues and he talked me through getting my first date with Sebastian. We helped each other get other people, other dates, so we didn't feel like that. I mean, I didn't think we did.

He groaned when he woke, pulling me out of my sleepy thoughts and actually forcing me to open my eyes.

"Jace?"

He hummed in response, pulling me tighter against him.

I chuckled.

I felt him smile back at me. "It's a Saturday. Go back to sleep."

"I have to get up." I moved to slide out of the bed.

He grabbed my side and pulled me back, pressing his head to my stomach and wrapping his arms around me. I chuckled, shaking my head and running a hand through his hair.

"Jace."

He shook his head. "Whatever it is, it can wait. I'm still upset and need comforting. And you're warm, so stop moving. Stop talking. Just sleep."

With that, I remembered why it was he was here in the first place. The situation wasn't a happy one. I went to open my mouth when I realized that his hand was right above my waist line, and my breathing froze for a minute when he moved it. I wasn't sure if that was intentional, but I went from comfortable to nervous in half a second.

I guessed it was accidental when he stopped moving suddenly, just holding me instead. My breathing relaxed at that.

"You know," he said softly in his morning voice. "I didn't tell you something."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Aline and I broke up yesterday."

Just to add to everything else… "What happened?"

"Alec found her kissing some blonde kid in the hallway after school while I was at practice. Coach sent him into the office to get some stuff, and Aline was sucking face with someone from the baseball team."

My hands balled into fists. "That bitch. I swear to God I'm gonna–"

"Ow, Clary!" he kind of yelled, pulling back. I realized that my hand fisted around his hair and I kind of pulled it, but when he pulled back, he had a small smile on his face. "Jesus, that hurt," he chuckled.

I smiled back sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to."

"It's fine. I didn't know you'd be that upset about it."

"Of course I would," I claimed as I sat up, meeting his eyes sternly. "You're my best friend, Jace. I mean, I already hated her, but that just makes me wish that Isabelle and I really did egg her house that one time."

His golden eyes widened. "You were going to egg her house?"

I nodded. "It was actually going to be this thing with all of us and – never mind, it's not important. What is important is if you're okay."

He shrugged, reaching forward and grabbing my hand. He did this thing when he was thinking or nervous about a conversation. He'd take my hand and run his fingers over my palm, tracing it as he talked. It took his mind off of what he was saying and he claimed that it made him more honest with me, more comfortable. So when he took my hand this time, I didn't object, as if I ever did before anyway.

"I'm actually okay right now," he started. "I mean, it sucks. Yesterday was hard and I hated every second of it until I came over here. You always find a way to cheer me up, to bring me back when I'm upset or angry, and I can't tell you how much I love you for that."

"I'm always here for you, Jace."

"I know," he smiled. "I know. And there's been something I wanted to ask you."

He had a weird look in his eyes this time, something I've never seen before. My stomach twisted at the sight of it. "Um, sure. What is it?"

"I was–"

"Clare-bear, I was – whoa, hey, Jace."

Jonathan. My brother. God, he had terrible timing. Whatever new that was in Jace's eyes died out instantly and he dropped my head, leaning back casually like he always did, trying to be cool and relaxed. I rolled my eyes and turned towards my brother.

"Hey, Jon, what is it?"

He pointed behind him. "Mom made pancakes and wanted to know how many you wanted. I can tell her to make extras for Jace, since no one knew he was even here until now."

"Rough night," Jace answered. "Sorry."

Jon shrugged. "You know we don't mind. So how many?"

With the numbers in mind, Jonathan left and I looked back at Jace, but he changed. He wasn't… whatever he was before. He was back to his normal self. I was happy about that, but I was kind of disappointed at the same time.

"Time to change?" he asked, slightly upbeat.

I nodded.

* * *

 **4:35 P.M.**

 _What are you doing right now? – J_

 _I'm at Jonathan's soccer game. Why? – C_

 _When will you be home? – J_

 _An hour? An hour and a half. Maybe two. It depends if we go eat afterwards I guess. Did you want to come over or something? – C_

 _Yeah. Um, is it okay if I just stay in your room until you get here? – J_

 _Here? As in… you're already in my room? – C_

 _Jace, are you okay? Why are you acting so… weird? – C_

 _Sorry, yeah. I'm already here. My parents were fighting and your window is unlocked so I just figured… I mean, I'm sorry! I didn't know that you didn't want me in here. – J_

 _It's not that. I'm just worried about you. You're acting weird. – C_

 _Sorry. – J_

 _It's okay. I'll see you soon. Just stay in my room and try not to break anything? ;) – C_

 _Ha! I'll try not to. Although I did find your cute little diary. No passages of me yet, but I'm seriously looking for them. Any hints where they are? – J_

 _Jace, I'd be careful what you did with that. Friendships are ruined by this kind of thing, especially with what I write about you. – C_

 _I'd hope so, I'll see you soon – J_

 _I hate you – C_

* * *

"Jace, you're being ridiculous."

"I am not Isabelle," I shot back, flipping through pages of Clary's diaries and sketchbooks. I was searching, really searching for something, anything that would tell me that she felt the same way I did. Because it's been driving me crazy recently.

But I had nothing. There were regular teenage things that she talked about, a few mentions of me here and there but it was all the typical best friend thing. So I did the only thing I could do.

I called the best friend.

"I don't know what you want me to tell you," Isabelle shot back. "I mean, she had a crush on you for a while, but you've been going from girl to girl for so long, do you honestly think that she'd be the girl to hold onto those feelings?"

"Are you that blind?"

I froze at the sound of Simon's voice on the phone as well. "Simon?" I asked.

He answered with a yes, then Isabelle put it on speaker so I could hear both of them. "Look, Jace, you're an idiot."

"And you're an asshole."

"But Isabelle doesn't know Clary like I do. If you wanted to know something about Clary, you should've asked me."

I flipped to another page in Clary's notebook, showing me a picture of Simon lying in the grass. I hated it. "Would you have honestly answered if I called you?" I flipped the page to the next one to get the nerd out of my sight.

"No, but I'm here now so hurry up and ask me whatever so I can go."

I didn't want to now. The last thing I wanted was Simon to, I mean, make fun of me? That just sounds childish, but I never let the nerd have anything over me. And this would give him an edge.

Isabelle caught onto my silence. "Jace wants to ask Clary out."

"Izzy!"

Simon chuckled. "I know that much."

I frowned. "What?"

"We're not stupid," Simon claimed. "You've dated so many people in order to keep your mind off of her. She can't date anyone cause she can't see herself with anyone but her best friend. Hell, it's more than obvious. And you're her best friend, so you should've seen this a long a time ago."

With that said, I was actually speechless for a moment. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"I'm saying that Clary does love you Jace, in all sense of the word for whatever reason I can't explain and–"

"Who are you talking to?"

My body jumped at the voice in the doorway, and I turned to find Clary there, looking at me with confusion. The phone sitting next to me went silent as Simon finally shut up, but I could tell that she had at least heard what the conversation was about.

"Um, hi," I said awkwardly.

She stood there, completely frozen and visibly uncomfortable. "Is that Simon?"

"And Isabelle!" the stupid dark headed girl yelled through the phone.

I immediately reached for it and hung up, practically throwing my phone on the floor. "I just called her while I was waiting for you. Simon is with her. No big deal. I promise."

 _Wow_ , _Jace_. _Way to not babble_.

She still hadn't moved from her spot in the doorway. Her upper body was covered in a regular t-shirt, one from her brother's team, and a pair of jean shorts. Her Vans were red, matching the black and red shirt, along with her hair that was in a Katniss-like braid down the right side of her neck.

I swallowed at the sight of her as I took her in.

Slowly, she turned and closed the door, locking it behind her. My eyebrow perched up at that. She's never locked the door with me.

Never.

"How was the game?" I asked, trying to avoid the serious stuff.

"We won," she said, not too cheerful about it. Her voice sounded far away. "I mean, Jonathan got a hat trick so my parents took him out to dinner."

"You didn't want to go?"

"You were here," she pointed out. "And I wanted to check on you so they dropped me off and left."

The house is empty. Great. That makes things easier, but also more difficult. Hell, I didn't know what it made.

It got quiet as she put her stuff in the corner and walked over to the bed. I turned and sat up, my feet hanging off the bed and she took the spot next to me, silently leaning back on her hands. She seemed troubled.

"Everything okay?" I asked cautiously.

She nodded. "I should be asking you that, right?"

"My situation with my parents can wait. You're here now, so I'm fine."

"Did you ever find my diary of you," she teased, bringing that smile out finally. I thought that the awkwardness was too much, but at least she could still tease me now.

So I smiled back. "No, care to point out where it is."

She shrugged and stood, and my eyes widened when she went to her closet and slipped inside. She disappeared for about ten seconds before coming back with a different book, a golden colored sketchbook that I've never seen before.

My eyebrow perched up. "Um, you have one I've never seen before?"

"I heard what you guys were talking about before I came in," she said, taking the spot next to me again.

I swallowed against the lump in my throat. "Um, really?"

"Yeah."

An awkward silence fell over us.

"What… what exactly did you hear?" I asked stupidly.

She kept her eyes down on the sketchbook before her. "Jace, do you really need me to answer that. I heard what you and Simon were saying."

"Was he… right? Did you – do you have – I mean, have you ever–"

"Yes," she interrupted, causing my heart to start to pick up speed. "I did. Do. Have. All of it."

"Okay," I said while contemplating this. "Should we, like, say it out loud so both of us get it?"

"Are you a child?" she teased.

I shrugged with one shoulder. "I just can't really wrap my mind around it. What Simon told me was one thing. Isabelle had not idea, so it makes me wonder if Simon was just an idiot or if you actually do… you know…"

"Do you?"

"Yes." I answered that without any hesitation, not even meaning to. It just slipped out, but I figured that I've needed to say it to her face, and elaborate. "Clary, I love you."

"You've told me that before," She said, obviously not believing this.

Hell, I didn't blame her. Twenty four hours ago, neither one of us ever had this conversation, but now here we were, and I was blabbering out my love like an idiot.

"What I mean is," I struggled to find the words. I sighed. "I could probably show you better than tell you."

Her cheeks flushed at that, giving me a bit of a boost. That was a good sign, right? Blushing meant that she was at least listening, understanding, and interpretation, and she hadn't said no. But the problem was that she hadn't said yes either.

"Is this a good idea?" she asked honestly. "We're best friends. "We've been best friends for years, and now…"

"We can be more than best friends," I said in a low voice, leaning forward. She turned and met my gaze, her eyes falling to my lips. I did the same, before both of us met our gazes again. "Clary, can I…" I brought my hand up, touching her cheek in a way I've never done before. "Can I kiss you?"

She swallowed, and was quiet for a while, but then… "I can't believe that you actually have to ask."

It was different than Aline. It was different than Kaelie. It was different than any of the other girls I've dated. When I kissed them, it was just a kiss.

With Clary, it was everything. Our lips had barely touched when I felt my stomach tighten and squeeze. That was new. And when her hands reached up and into my hair, it was more electric than normal. It was better.

There wasn't anything huge or erotic about this kiss though. It was simple, with our lips brushing over each other. I didn't want to push anything, so I let her kind of take over even though I was dying for more. So when she opened her mouth slightly and her tongue brushed my lips, I almost lost it.

It was an invitation, and I gladly took it as we deepened the kiss. I hoped that she was feeling what I was feeling, but the way she was responded seemed to tell me so. Slowly, without breaking the kiss between us, she shifted to – what I guessed was to – get into my lap, when something thudded on her floor.

We broke apart as our eyes drifted down to the floor, finding that golden sketchbook.

My mouth spoke before my mind could even think. "Is that really all of me?"

She nodded, moving until her legs were on either side of my hips. Her arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me into her, pressing our bodies together. My arms held her close, rubbing over her back soothingly.

I couldn't believe that this just happened.

"Jace?"

"Hmm?"

"Is this real?" she asked, pulling back. "I mean, this isn't just a thing for you, right?"

"Hell no," I answered quickly. "This is different, Clary. I promise you with everything that I have, that this is completely and totally different for me. I never knew it before, but there was a reason that I always needed you to touch me, to hold me, to sleep with me. And not like that, but like last night. I thought that you were just that friend for me, that friend that in needed and the one that relaxed me, but you're… you're everything for me."

She smiled and it reached from ear to ear, her green eyes sparkling. "Really?"

"Would you want to, you know," I paused and shrugged shyly, "to be my… girlfriend?"

Her smile only grew. "Is it weird that this is something I never knew I needed, but knew I always wanted?"

"Is that a yes?"

She leaned down and kissed me softly, and I fell back against the bed after a few seconds. Clary's hands pressed against the sheets to either side of my head, making this all the more real and intimate. We'd been in this position multiple times before when we fought and wrestled, but this was completely different. This was completely better.

I couldn't stop myself from reaching up and wrapping my hands around her braid, finding the hair tie and pulling it out, running my hands through her hair until the curly waves fell around us like a curtain on one side. My hands tangled in the mix as our mouths explored each others skin and lips. She tasted so much different than others, and it was addictive.

It was funny. You'd think I'd know her body like the back of my hand. I've slept with her in the same bed so many times. I've held her, cuddled her, played in the backyard pool with her for years, teased her, and anything else you can imagine except romantically. But I thought I knew her pretty well. I was wrong. Everywhere my hands reached, I realized that this was different. Her hips fit my hands perfectly, and her sides were smoother than I remember. There was a dip just below her collarbone that when I brushed my lips over it, she gasped. I didn't know her body did these... things, but it was glorious.

With her hands balled into the fabric of my shirt, she began to pull, and I reached behind me as I sat up slightly, yanking it off and immediately pulling her back down to me. I hated the split distance between us.

She pulled away, breathless, and looked down at me with those bright green eyes. "Yes," she finally answered.

I just beamed with a cheeky smile and what I figured were glowing eyes. This was real. This was happening. This was perfect.

* * *

 **What ya think? I don't know about this one, personally, but hopefully some of you like it! I guess we shall see.**

 **Stay tuned for another soon!**


	4. Bonnie and Clyde

**So, the way I write, I kind of unintentionally make it seem like these will be more than one shots. If you've read my other stories, you know they're long with a lot of backstory, so it's kind of an instinct to just throw those out there. I'm sorry if it makes you all curious, but I'm glad you all are enjoying these. They're fun to write and your suggestions are a hoot and a half!**

 **This suggestion: Could you do one where jace and clary are almost like a modern day Bonnie and Clyde? Clary could be a goodie goodie and jace is the bad boy who is secretly a criminal and when clary finds out, jace asks her to run away with him becuase they are both so in love**

* * *

The gang was together again after our last break, looking at the loot that we managed to pull out of the commercial bank we broke into no more than thirty minutes before. The moonlight was dim, but still shining down on the money before us.

And Jordan smirked. "You know, Jace, I hate your plans until they come through. Then," he picked up one paper bill, looking at it with loving eyes, "I realize you're a genius."

"We've almost got enough to get us out of Dallas," I said, smirking.

All of us wanted out of here, mainly because we've been in so much trouble recently with the stealing and robbing. Maia had almost been caught last night, which was bad enough. Then, Simon was an idiot and almost forgot the plan a while back. The dumbass is the smartest guy in the squad, and yet he's a complete moron at the same time. Then there was Alec and Magnus, who were shunned because of the fact that they were homosexuals, especially in a place like Texas. Isabelle didn't mind it much here, but that's because she's gorgeous enough that she could talk her way through anything.

We split the money equally and headed out into the night, agreeing to meet back up at the usual empty warehouse that we've called home for the past few months. It was nothing special, but a few more bank robberies and stolen jewelry, and we'll be able to finally get out of the country and buy a house or two in Europe.

So with me, myself, and I, I ventured out into the late summer air of Dallas. There wasn't too much to do, and I was careful about where I went, like not going to places we've robbed before.

The night life was starting to die down by now, people stumbling out of clubs and saloons, random ones walking across the street.

I smirked as one couple was making out against what I presumed was the guy's car. They couldn't even make it inside. Classy.

"Okay, Sebastian, I think you should stop."

I stopped at that, confusion setting in. It wasn't a voice I recognized, but it was scared and young and feminine, even if it tried to sound calm. I could tell the difference. I glanced around, noticing a dark alley across the street. I dodged a car on my way over, peering around the side curiously.

There was a man and a woman, and it didn't look like it was a happy reunion. The man had her against the wall, his body pressed against hers as he hand her hands above her head. He was kissing her neck, and they both seemed to be dressed way better than I was. I was in just blue jeans and a black t-shirt, which was all I could really afford for a while. But this girl was dressed in what looked to be a thousand dollar dress, and the guy's suit had to cost a fortune.

"Sebastian," she groaned, and at first I thought she liked it and I started to turn and leave. But then she said, "Ow! Sebastian, stop, please. You're hurting me."

"Come on, Clary. Let's go back to my apartment."

"I really don't think that that is a good idea," she shot back hesitantly. I leaned back over to look when she 'gently' shoved him away from her. He barely budged.

And he came right back at her again.

"Sebastian, seriously, stop." She shoved him harder this time, and he tripped over a can behind him, stumbling into the dumpster, looking disgusted. He glared at the dirt, brushing it off of him in a hurry. That was probably the first time he touched anything under a hundred dollars.

He glared at her afterwards, looking… well, looking pissed.

She stood her ground, glaring back at him in her green dress and heels. Her red hair was like fire, curling around her shoulders and down her back. She was… beautiful.

"Sebastian, stay there, please."

Sebastian shook his head. "Clarissa, dear, do as I say or you'll regret it."

"This is the twenty-first century," she shot back. "You technically don't own me, Sebastian. Just… stop. Something bad could happen."

"I can get myself out of anything," he said with a smirk. "You know about that as well as I do."

"Excuse me," I finally said as I stepped around the corner in the dark night. "Is there a problem here?"

He turned and looked me up and down. "Back off, Thor," Sebastian said in a terrible tone with an even worse insult. Granted, I _was_ tall, muscular, and was often called a God. Not much of an insult though. "This doesn't involve you."

"Why don't you just let the girl go, since she's obviously not wanting to be involved with you."

He stepped towards me once. "This is my fiancé. What I do to her as nothing to do with you. I can beat the shit out of her if I wanted and you'd just be irrelevant." He glanced over my clothes and smirked. "You're nothing but a peasant, so why don't you just–"

I snapped at that, not even thinking before my fist came flying and hit him right in the jaw. I was expecting a fight, but he just collapsed and rolled on his back, completely… knocked out. And my fist instantly started to pound in pain.

"Oh my God!" the girl, Clary I think, yelled.

I looked up, finding her scared eyes on me. I looked down to her fiancé, who was just unconscious but not dead, and looked back to her. "Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

She shook her head. "Um, no it's fine," she said, still kind of in a mixture of awe and disbelief, but slowly coming back. "He's well.. he's kind of an…"

"Asshole?" I finished.

She nodded.

"Then why are you marrying him?"

She sighed and wrapped her arms around her stomach. "My father and my brother died when I was younger. My mother died when she birthed me. My stepdad, Luke, owed Sebastian's dad a lot of money, and the only way out was to marry the guy." She groaned. "I did it for him. But when he passed away three months ago, I didn't really have another place to go."

I was kind of… shocked. Hell, I thought I had it bad. I mean, nobody in the gang had parents anymore, but we at least had each other.

"Are you going to be okay?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know what to do or where to go."

"You can," I was going to get my face kicked in by everybody when I asked this, but I did anyway and finished, "stay with us."

"Us?"

"My friends and I have a small, well, I don't really know what to call it but it's home." She gave me a weird look. "I mean, if you want to."

"I really shouldn't leave," she said, walking towards Sebastian and leaning down, sliding his hair out of his closed eyes. "He would kill me if I left."

"He wouldn't find you."

"You don't know that. He's Sebastian Verlac. He can do anything he wants to."

My eyes widened. "Verlac? As in–"

She nodded sadly. "Verlac Consolidated. His family basically runs the world."

"Jesus," I breathed. They were the richest cooperation in the world, right up there with Microsoft and Apple. I mean, they owned so much that I couldn't even imagine it. And I knocked out the owner's son.

This moved our timeline of getting out of the city a lot faster. And this is exactly why I never do anything nice for people. Great.

"Thank you," she said as she stood and looked up at me. Her eyes, even though it was dark, were a bright green. "But you should probably go before he wakes up and kills you."

I actually chuckled at that. "He couldn't even if he wanted to." My mind went to all the people I've… well, I've hurt. I'm not a killer, but I can hold my own in a fight. I wasn't too worried about a rich kid. I was more worried about his friends and resources.

"He's gotten away with a lot," she said with a sad voice.

"You mean…"

She nodded. "It wouldn't be the first time large companies got away with that kind of thing. I honestly think they had something to do with Luke's death, but when I tried to snoop and find out… he beat me."

"What?" I exclaimed. "He beat you?"

"Look, thank you…"

I sighed. "Jace."

"Jace," she repeated. "But I don't have a choice. I appreciate you coming, but it probably just made my life ten times worse, so it would be best if you left."

"No," I said without thinking.

She glared at me. "Excuse me?"

"You're seriously going to stay with a guy like that, someone who will make your life miserable, someone who will hurt you, even when you have a way out?"

"A way out?" she repeated with confusion. "You realize that this isn't a way out. You're some guy I met 5 minutes ago, not a knight in shining armor on a white horse."

I don't know why this made me so mad, but I stood my ground. "Listen, I'm just trying to help. You're being ignorant and stupid by staying with him. And the way you talk, one mistake and you're going to be on a hit list, is that what you want?"

"I'm doing what I have to do. I don't have a choice."

I shook my head. "No, you're not. You're doing what others expect of you."

I saw her falter with my words. "I don't… I am not! I'm my own person, Jace, whether you believe it or not."

"You don't even believe that," I said with a shake of my head. "Let me guess, you've been doing what people tell you your entire life. You've never fought back, even though there is a fire in you that has always made you want to. I see it right now in the fact that you want to slap me, but there's something inside of you that stops you from doing the same behavior on someone like him," I gestured to the unconscious man on the ground. "But darling, it's going to get you in a world of hurt until you realize that you don't have to take anyone's bullshit. You're going to have to put on your big girl panties one day."

She stared at me in shock for the longest time. "I–"

There was a moan from Sebastian that caused her to snap back to reality. She jumped at the sound, her eyes wild with the idea of leaving.

I reached my hand out. "Clary, if you don't like it, you can come back tomorrow and tell him I kidnapped you or some shit."

"He wouldn't believe it."

"Then… don't come back. But at least have people behind you that will genuinely care about you."

She looked up at me and held my gaze this time. "And you seriously think that your friends will just welcome me with open arms?"

I shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

* * *

"I can't believe you talked me into this."

I chuckled next to her, staring up at our… well, building. It was an abandoned warehouse that had been empty for only a few years, so it wasn't too shabby. It wasn't glorious of course.

But she wasn't comfortable. I could only imagine how bad that it would be to go from luxury to this. At least we weren't born into riches and having it stripped. You can't miss what you never had, right? But Clary, she could miss it.

Although why should would miss it because of Sebastian is beyond me.

A sound to the right made her jump. She was skittish I guessed, and in the three A.M. darkness, she jumped right into my side, wrapping her small hands around my forearm.

"Um," she said in a very distressed voice. "Jace?" she squeaked. "What was that?"

"The cat," I shrugged casually, watching Chairmen Meow sprint out from the shadows and across the light from a street lamp before disappearing again. "He hunts at night."

"Is he yours?"

"Magnus's."

"Who's Magnus?"

"Alec's boyfriend."

"Alec?"

"He's Isabelle's sister."

She sighed, but continued anyway. "Um, Isabelle?"

This little game was just amusing. "Yup, Isabelle. She's Simon's girlfriend."

"And who is Simon, since we might as well just keep it going."

"He was Jordan's best friend in high school. They're still pretty close actually, since they're always together. Always like music and all that."

"And Jordan is…?"

I smiled. "Maia's boyfriend. And I promise, that's everybody. The whole gang."

She nodded. "Where… where are they?"

I grabbed her hand and led her across the dark walls of the outside of the warehouse, coming up on the door around the side of it. "We–" I paused when I realized that I didn't know what to say. _We just robbed someone and they're out celebrating at the moment_. That would be genius. "We're party people I guess. They like to go out at night and chill here for the day."

She stiffened in the darkness of the inside of the warehouse, jumping when the door shut behind her.

"Relax," I said. "Here."

I flicked the lights on, and the entire place lit up. There were still pallets lying here and there, other gears and gadgets from the company that was here before, but now, there were just old mattresses lying in random places.

She swallowed. "You... you live in a warehouse?"

I nodded. "It's not much, but it keeps us together."

"What happened to you guys?"

I shrugged and pulled her through the warehouse slowly, turning on as many lights as possible to keep her comfortable and explained. We had all lost our parents in one way or another, and we somehow found each other throughout time. Now, this was just the only way we could think of keeping everything together.

Clary took a seat on my mattress, which was placed in what I presumed was the manager's office. I had called dibs when we first got here a few months ago, and nobody fought me on it.

She pulled her legs up to her chest, leaning back against the wall. "This is so different."

"If it was similar, I'd be concerned."

She gave me a small smile at that, tapping the spot next to her. I was hesitant, but I took the spot, pressing my back to the wall as well.

"I'm more comfortable here than I have been in my own home for years," she confessed.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. I could still turn out to be a murderer or a killer, someone who prays of distressed gingers," I teased, earning a small shove from her shoulder. "Kidding, of course. I'm kidding."

"Better be." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "So, um, where do I sleep?" She yawned with the question.

"You can stay here," I explained, reaching towards the 'desk' and grabbing the old blanket that was on top. "It's too small for two people, so I can stay in one of the extra mattresses somewhere in the warehouse."

"What?" She frowned as I got up, looking sacred. "You're not sleeping here?"

Now, it was my turn to be confused. "Am I supposed to? I figured that… I mean, you'd be more comfortable by yourself, wouldn't you?"

She shook her head. "Could you, like, maybe bring a bed in here or something? If your friends come back and I'm alone, I might actually cry." Her honesty was… appreciated, that's for sure.

"Yeah, sure," I said with a small smile. "Just let me get a mattress and I'll be right back."

* * *

I woke to a tapping on the concrete floor of the warehouse. It was only one thing that it could possibly be.

Isabelle and her freaking high heels that she 'just can't live without'. IN this case, at least it woke me up this time for good reason.

I slid out of the bed, Clary curled up on the other one in a little ball, and slowly made my way outside the door, closing it behind me. Isabelle, Simon, Maia, and Jordan were all walking towards me, babbling happily about this and that.

I waved them down, pulling my finger to my lips and they all looked, well, they looked confused. As they should.

Isabelle spoke first. "What's going on? Why are you telling us to be quiet?"

"There's someone in my room, and she's asleep, so if you don't mind–"

"What?" Simon hissed, dropping his arm from Isabelle's waist to glare at me. "You brought a girl here? Jace, she could be an undercover cop. She could be a spy, and assassin, you don't know anything about her but–"

"She's not a spy," I claimed. "Look, this is what happened."

We had made our way outside to sit on the benches in the hot summer air, a small bit of sunlight starting to come up. They were out all night, which is typical, and the sleep deprived state that they were in wasn't helping them understand why I did what I did.

"I still don't get it," Jordan said for the tenth time. "You could've just punched the guy and left."

I shook my head. "Apparently, I couldn't."

"So what do we do? If she is as you say she is, as soon as she finds out about us, she's going to go to the police. A goodie-two-shoes like her doesn't just overlook a bunch of thieves."

My head fell to my hands. "Yeah, I haven't really thought about that."

"You probably thought with the wrong head," Simon mumbled.

There was a slap as Isabelle hit him in the back of his head. The one with the brain. "Shut up and stop being an asshole."

Simon shrugged. "Whatever. We're all going to jail soon anyway. So much for getting out of here."

"We're still leaving," Maia implied, and then she looked at me when I peeked up. "We are, aren't we?"

"Absolutely. I wouldn't just put everything on hold for a girl I met four hours ago."

"Now that we've got that settled," Jordan stood, pulling Maia with him. "I'm going to sleep. See you guys in the afternoon."

Simon and Isabelle had the same idea, going into the warehouse right on their heels. I sat there for a while, thinking about what this could've caused. They handled it pretty well, I'll say that much. I wasn't happy when Isabelle brought in Simon and Jordan, and I had to get over it. It's only fair, right?

With a sigh, I stood and walked back inside, hoping that this was going to end okay.

But when I turned the corner to my 'room' I froze.

Alec and Magnus were there, staring inside the door where it was cracked. I couldn't see their faces, but their postures were readable enough.

"I didn't sleep with her."

They jumped at the sound of my voice, both pulling away. Alec looked uncomfortable and gave out a nervous chuckled. Magnus just looked, well, like Magnus. Even in a place like this, he found ways to get make-up and wash his hair daily. He was a force to be reckoned with.

And he just pointed to my room and asked: "Who is that?"

"Clary." That was all the information I gave.

"Okay," Magnus said with a shrug, pulling Magnus along to their room. He winked at me when they passed, causing me to roll my eyes at them. At least I didn't have to worry about anybody, since everybody now knew about her.

* * *

It wasn't until a few hours later that I finally woke up permanintely. My body was stiff from sleeping on a mattress that wasn't mine – and had probably been sitting in the warehouse for two years – but I stretched and graoned regardless.

That's when I heard someone stir next to me and I remembered…

My eyes found her as she was sitting up, crossed legged on the bed, her back to the wall like the ngiht before. Her body wasn't dressed in the dress from earlier though. She had changed, apparently in my sleep deprived state, and managed to slip into a white t-shirt of mine and old sweatpants.

I smiled when she looked up and met my eyes, immediately looking down. There was a notebook in her lap, one I had never really seen before, and a pen in her hand. "What are you doing?" I asked curiously.

"I draw when I'm nervous or stressed out," she answered. "Or when I've been away for forty-five minutes and didn't know where to go or what to do and I didn't want to wake you up so when I changed I grabbed this and I'm rambling and I'm sorry," she summed up, finally breathing.

She was… cute like this. I wasn't afraid to admit it. Even with her hair up in a messy bun and a bit of runny make up that she tried to wipe off, I could admit that she was attractive.

"What are you drawing?" I asked, sliding up to sit.

She put the pen in her mouth, glaring at the page. "It's wrong."

"What is?"

"The drawing. It's so… not right."

"What do you mean?" I asked, standing and moving across the room. When I reached down and almost grabbed the notebook, she pulled it back, shaking her head. "I can't see it?"

"No!" she practically yelled. "My art, my rules, my life. Deal with it."

With that, I couldn't help but chuckle. "Well you've changed in the past ten hours."

"Excuse me?" she glared.

My hands came up defensively and I backed away a few steps. "Yesterday, you wouldn't fight Sebastian, but I guess now you're holding your own."

"I've never let anyone see my art, not even him," she said instantly. "That's not about to change for someone like you."

"Someone like me?"

Her eyes widened at what she said. I didn't take offense, but I pretend to in order to watch her squirm. "I – I didn't mean – what I meant was–"

"Jace?"

Clary shut up as Isabelle poked her head inside the door, dressed in dark pants, boots, and a black V-neck with her dark hair up in a ponytail. She and Simon must have showered. Everyone showers together to save water and all that, long story.

Anyway, she looked at Clary, waved and said, "Hi, Clary," and then turned to me and quickly stated, "Breakfast is ready."

And then she was gone.

Clary pointed at the door, dumbfounded. "Um, she knows me?"

"They woke me up when they came back so I explained. Anyway," I held my hand out to her. "You ready?"

She nodded and took it. And I didn't know if it was because she was nervous or scared, but she held my hand the whole breakfast with the group. They didn't intend to make her uncomfortable, but I was happy that my presence at least eased her a little.

I mean, I sure as hell wasn't complaining about it.

* * *

After a while, she began to relax, to calm down. We ate the breakfast biscuits that Jordan and Maia had gone to get, with our newfound money, and now we were just sitting around and talking.

"So," Clary said hesitantly, sliding a little into my side when all eyes went on her around the round, rugged table in the Break Room. "Um, do you guys have jobs or anything?"

Simon burst out laughing, immediately clamping his hand over his mouth. I glared him and he shrugged. "Sorry."

"Why is that funny?" she asked with confusion.

"Our jobs are unorthodox," Magnus explained as he and Alec leaned against the counter casually. "I mean, it's not something that you would guess, and it's probably not something you're interested in."

"Or something you're scared of," Alec mumbled.

"Possibly effected by."

She looked at me for answers. "What exactly does that mean?"

"They talk in riddles," I answered while pulling it out of my ass. "I mean, they're a weird couple, always having inside jokes and this and that. You learn to just ignore their stupid comments."

"I resent that," Magnus shot back. "I am a highly intelligent."

I shook my head. "Maybe compared to your cat."

"But seriously," Clary continued. "What is it you guys do all day?"

"What did you do in the life of luxury?" Magnus shock back, changing the subject. I was honestly shocked he did.

"Mainly tried to stay out of trouble," she confessed. "Sebastian wasn't exactly kind if he found out I was having drinks with a friend against his will or his knowledge. I learned after a while that it was just best if I stayed inside and only hung out with Aline."

"Aline?" I asked.

"His cousin," she answered. "He couldn't really say no to that, so at least I had one friend to keep me sane. If I wasn't at the office building with him, I was with her. She didn't care for Sebastian any more than I did, but we were both pretty good actresses in that aspect."

My hand grabbed hers under the table and I gave her a small smile. She returned it, squeezing my own fingers lightly.

Jordan, who was silently standing against the wall with Maia on his hip, finally spoke after so much silence. "Are we really going to ignore her question?"

"What question?" Simon and Magnus asked at the same time, pointing to each other like idiots and smiling.

Maia rolled her eyes. "We can't keep our income secret if she's staying here."

"But it's not exactly… good news," Isabelle pointed out.

Alec pinched the bridge of his nose. "Is this one of those: gently let the fish soak in the water for a while, or are we going to just drop it in?"

"We're thieves," I finally spoke, feeling Clary's hand tense in my own when I answered. "It's as simple as that."

"Thieves?" she repeated.

We all nodded slowly.

She frowned and looked around at each of us as she spoke slowly. "So, thieves like Aladdin, or thieves like… killing people for money?"

A few of us let out a breathy laugh. "Those are assassins," Magnus said, "You can kind of consider us like Aladdin. We don't like to hurt people, but this is definitely something we've had to do to survive. When no one in Dallas would hire us, we never had a choice."

Clary took in this information. "So, let me guess." She pointed at Simon. "You're the nerd that deals with all the technological stuff?"

He seemed surprised, but he nodded.

She pointed at Isabelle. "And you're the one that deals with the fashion aspect, but I'm pretty sure you could kick any man's ass if you wanted to."

With a smile, Isabelle winked.

This time, she turned to Maia and Jordan. "Are you two the duo that they send into dangerous situations that require a lot of manpower and cunning maneuvers that only you two can understand each other for?"

Maia shrugged one shoulder, while Jordan just answered plainly with a yes.

"And Alec, I have a feeling you keep this one from hurting himself when his mouth gets him into dangerous situations. I'm guessing they send you into places to occupy people and distract them," she said, pointing between Magnus and Alec. They both nodded sideways, kind of a yes, kind of a no.

"So," She finally turned to me. "What exactly do you do?"

"He's the planner," Simon answered. "And the muscle. And the fighter. And the guy that we all turn to when shit goes south because his ideas are insane in the first place."

I leaned back in my chair casually, giving him a look. "I don't see you complaining about the money we got last night."

"You stole some last night?" Clary asked, shocked and surprised.

"It was before we met," I explained. "And we stole from The Institute of Banking. They're one of the biggest banks in the world. They can afford to lose a few thousand dollars here and there, and with Simon taking down the security system, it was easy to get in and out. The only problem was–"

"We couldn't picture the layout," Alec finished. "Blueprints aren't exactly a thing that works for us because we can't get them and none of us can even picture the place. But–"

Isabelle interrupted this time. "We still need about twenty –thousand dollars to get us to New York, secure us a apartment or two, and have some money left over for us to find some jobs and sneak away. But we can't without blueprints or a way in and out of a bank like–"

"Verlac Consolidated?" Clary finished, catching us off guard. "You want to rob a place like that?"

"Ideally," I answered. "They definitely deserve it, and can handle it, although if we stole enough to put them out of business, I wouldn't complain."

Clary shook her head. "You'd have to steal millions."

"If only," Simon muttered.

There was a pause and silence for a while between all of us. We waited in silence for Clary to take everything in, to understand. And afterwards, she shocked us all.

She looked up, a smile on her face. "I can get you in their safe in Sebastian's office. He keeps about a hundred thousand dollars in there at a time. With that, you'd all be set."

* * *

With Clary's drawing ability that she showed us, she was able to use her memory to give us a layout of the entire building, all the way to the top of Verlac Consolidated to Sebastian's office and his father's office on the floor above it.

"This is incredible," I said as we both stood in my room, staring at the desk where she laid out the plans for us. I was overlooking them, trying to get something going that would succeed.

She leaned back in the office chair, looking smug. It was a new look for her, and one I liked. "I'm glad I can finally put myself to good use."

"Good use? This makes my job ten times easier."

"It won't be easy though," she claimed, leaning forward. "At the front door you have two guards, Will and Jem. Now, with those two, you have to…"

We went on about a plan for the rest of the day, talking about this and that, and even getting off topic a few times. Simon asked her to go to lunch with him, so he could get to know her and give her a break. I took the time to go for a run. Magnus and Isabelle seemed to have a good talk with her. Overall, everyone was getting along pretty well, and Jordan was just happy that she was useful and not deadweight.

I smiled later that night when she yawned beside me, our backs against the wall as usual, and she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"Tired?" I asked.

She nodded. "Planning revenge on my ex-boyfriend is more exhausting than I thought."

"Oh yeah?" I chuckled. "Well, I'm hoping you're not changing your mind."

"No way."

"Good."

It was quiet for a moment, but it was comfortable. She yawned again after a while, and I felt like that was my signal to get up. "I'll let you get to sleep then."

Her hand wrapped around mine when I tried to stand. I looked at her with confusion. "Can you… stay with me?"

"I – I already do," I answered, pointing to the other bed. "I'm right there."

She blushed in the overhead light. "I mean, like stay with me."

My stomach churned, but in a good way. "Really?"

She nodded. "Last night was hard to fall asleep, and I – I think that, well, maybe–"

I smiled at her. "Don't worry. You don't have to explain and I definitely don't mind."

She blushed even more.

We pushed the small beds together making a bigger one. I lied down, expecting her to keep some distance between us, but she immediately rolled over until her arm draped my waist and her head lied on my arm, curling into me. I smiled at that, and without thinking, I kissed the top of her head.

"So, are you staying with us?" I asked hesitantly.

She nodded. "As far as I'm concerned, there's no other place that I could fit in. You guys have brought me in, and I can't thank you enough for that." She looked up and before I knew it, she kissed me cheek shyly before ducking her head again. "Thank you, Jace."

"You're welcoming," I said with a bit of awe in my voice. "Goodnight, Clary. I'm glad you're here."

"Goodnight, Jace. And thank you."

* * *

 **I wish I could've done more than just a one shot with this one because it really is a good idea! I mean, I could make a long story from this, but I'm enjoying writing these short ones. Maybe in the future, I'll start this over with more detail, but thank you for the suggestion. I had fun with it!**

 **So stay tuned for more! Coming soon!**


	5. Best Friend's Brother

**First of all, someone asked if I was going to do extra writing for Heaven or Hell, or even for any of my other stories, but there are no plans in the near future. If I ever do, I'll let you know! But anyway...**

 **A ton of people have asked me to do a best friend's brother, or a brother's best friend or anything of the like. So I decided to kind of mix all of them with my own little twists on it. Hopefully, it lives up to a mix of the requests that I got!  
**

* * *

CLARY'S POV:

"Blue or yellow?"

I tilted her head at the two dresses before me, shrugging my shoulder from my spot on Isabelle's bed. "Blue? I think?"

Isabelle rolled her eyes, turning towards the mirror and holding the different dresses to her body. "For being my best friend, you're absolutely no help whatsoever."

"What can I say? I'm useless."

"I can attest to that."

I stood from her bed, rolling my eyes slightly. "I'm going to get something to drink."

"Can you see if you can find that stupid bag from Victoria's Secret today? Mom put it somewhere downstairs and I need to see which dress fits best with that new bra."

I saluted her casually as she walked out. "Aye aye, Captain."

Slowly, I made her way through the house, not sure where everyone was. The upstairs seemed too quiet and soft, but I didn't question it as I headed down the usual stairs to the kitchen. I had rounded the corner and just about made it to the kitchen when a hand reached out and grabbed my arm, pulling me into the pantry without question.

The door shut behind me in the light and I was pressed up against it, looking into the eyes of Isabelle's adopted brother, Jace.

"Where have you been?" he asked hurriedly. "We agreed to meet downstairs in the kitchen at 5 and its," he glanced at his watch on his wrist, "5:08."

To annoy him, I shrugged, playing with the hair on the back of his neck where the gold curled against his skin. His curls were one of my favorite parts about my best friend's brother's features. "I didn't have a good excuse to leave yet. Isabelle needed me to come downstairs and look for something now though, so we have about ten minutes before she gets suspicious." I gently pulled him down until our lips almost touched. "Do you really want to waste that time just talking?"

He didn't answer with words, and his lips were pressed to mine hard in the next second. Like every other time, I smiled into the kiss, half because he was so aggressive and the other half because I was just happy that this was happening again.

You see, we snuck around like this for about three weeks now. There was no way that we'd tell Isabelle or Jonathan, Jace's best friend and my older brother. We weren't sure how the two would react, so we would just meet up when we happened to be in the same house at the same time, and it made it that much more… erotic.

He grabbed my hands and laced our fingers, pressing them against the door next to my head. I loved this part, his aggressive yet sensitive and careful pside. I bit his lower lip lightly, pulling on it to evoke my favorite response in him. He growled and pushed his body closer until there was absolutely not space between us, and the door creaked and bent a little with the amount of force he was using.

He pulled back just to kiss down my neck, but I immediately stopped him. He gave me a look but I knew that he knew why I stopped.

And I just shook her head. "Jace, you know I can't have any hickeys. Don't even try it."

"Yes, you can," he said with a sly smile, going again but I pushed him back a little again. "Clary, come on. It's always fun to see how you manage to hide them. Fixing your hair and stealing Isabelle's make-up and all that."

I chuckled when he went back to my neck, but I pushed him away again playfully. "You're insatiable. I'm supposed to be getting water and Isabelle's new bra from your mom's room."

Jace immediately frowned and shuddered. "And now I have my sister's lingerie in my head." He dropped his hands from me and stepped back. "Thank you for completely ruining the mood."

I smiled and kissed him lightly one more time on the lips. "Don't be so upset. You'll get to see me tonight."

"I will," he said with a perky smile. "I'm trying to get Kaelie to come later to your house tonight, so she can occupy Jonathan." He stepped closer again, twisting a strand of my red hair in his fingers. "You think we can sneak out to the pool or something?"

"Isabelle will be with Simon, so yes, please."

He kissed me one more time, holding there for a moment before pressing our foreheads together. "Alright, I'll see you then."

* * *

"CLARY! WE HAVE A CODE RED AND I NEED YOUR HELP! HURRY!"

I sighed from my spot on my bed and slid off, making my way towards my brother's room. One day, I'm going to force Jonathan to fix his own shit, but for now, I'm the one that had to do it.

"Hey, Jace," I said casually as I walked in. He smiled at me and that was it, showing no other emotion. This was the worst part, trying to hide it in front of everybody when all I wanted was to walk over and kiss him.

Instead, I bent down by the Xbox, 'accidently' sticking my butt up in the air in my running shorts and tank top that didn't cover too much.

"What's wrong with it?" I asked, leaning next to Jonathan.

He shrugged, holding the multiple cords wrapped around his fingers and arms. "I don't even know. What the hell are all these cords for anyway?"

I sighed. "Move." With my hands on his shoulders, I pushed him to the side, sitting next to the mess he made. Being Simon's best friend in a way, he taught me all about the Xbox, PS4, Wii U and the like. I knew what most of it was and how to fix it. Jonathan thought it was the only good quality I got from that friendship.

Within about 5 minutes, I was able to fix up the Xbox and get it running. Jonathan jumped up with a 'YAS' and wrapped me in a hug which I despised.

I patted his back softly when he put me down, suppressing a grin. "You're welcome, bro."

"You're the best."

"Totally," Jace added with a wink behind my brother's back. "Don't know what we would do without you, ya know?"

I rolled my eyes at him, actually letting the grin break through this time but Jonathan was too focused on getting the game ready. I walked towards the bed, taking the spot casually next to Jace. "So, what game are you playing?"

"Borderlands 2," Jonathan answered. "There's this one character, Claptrap, who is hilarious! He runs around calling you minion, saying the dumbest shit. And at one part, he goes on and on about–"

"I thought you guys didn't hang out with Simon," I interrupted, a chuckle erupting from Jace. "You're starting to sound just like him. Is he rubbing off on you?"

Jonathan glared at me. "I changed my mind. I hate you."

Jace leaned closer to me, whispering so only I could hear. "I think that was a low blow."

"It was necessary," I pointed out with a small shove to his side.

"Jace, you ready?" Jonathan asked, holding up the remote as he stood and turned towards us. "Clary, that's my spot."

"You have a spot?"

"It's my bed. And I play this game in the same spot every time, otherwise I suck and I'll die."

I gave him a stupid look. "You're ridiculous. I'm going back to my room."

* * *

 _Your brother is an idiot. He's so into this game that it's sad and I don't know if I should be amused or worried. – J_

 **He's your friend by choice. My brother not by choice. See the difference? – C**

 _You don't know that I chose his friendship. I could just be friends with him to get to you. – J_

 **If that's the case, then explain the ten years of friendship before that. – C**

 _He always had cool video games before I matured and he didn't. Besides, your mom makes the best brownies ever. - J_

 **Excuses. Excuses. - C**

Just at that moment when I hit send, the doorbell rang throughout the house. That would be Kaelie, and my brother was too into the game to answer the door.

"CLARY! CAN YOU GET THAT?"

No surprise there.

I stood and walked downstairs, grabbing the handle and opening the wooden door to reveal Kaelie in tight blue jeans, a white tank top, with her hair braided and a baseball cap on.

My hands gestured her inside, closing the door behind her. "The boys are upstairs."

"Still playing those stupid games?" she asked with a chuckle.

I nodded, leading the way with her right behind me. "Absolutely. They've been waiting for you to start the movie I think."

She nodded as we reached Jonathan's door at the top of the stairs. "You're watching with us, right?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know."

"Come on," she begged. "Don't make me be with them by myself. Jonathan, I can handle. Jace, not so much since we broke up. It's still weird."

"It's only weird if you make it weird. Besides, you guys dated for like 2 weeks. Was it that impactful?" I teased.

She shrugged, looking shy. "Please, Clary?" she gave me her best puppy dog eyes. "We'll probably play drinking games and stuff too. So it won't be boring."

I was about to say no when an idea hit me. Drinking games. Jonathan tends to black out when he drinks, and I know that Kaelie is very similar and a lightweight. But Jace… he doesn't drink that much at least. And myself, I don't either.

That also meant that Jonathan and Kaelie would probably be 'turning in early', if you knew what I meant.

"I'll think about it," I said with a smile, opening Jonathan's door. "Jonathan, you need to stop being a nerd and entertain your people."

"In a minute," he said with his eyes glued to the screen.

I gave Kaelie and sympathetic look before turning and leaving, knowing and feeling Jace's eyes on me the whole time I was there.

* * *

By ten thirty, my brother and Kaelie were pretty far gone. We were watching The Avengers, and they came up with this idea that every time the words "Iron Man, Hulk, Hawk Eye, Captain, Captain America, Avengers, and basically anything else" was said, we had to take a drink. But what they didn't know was that Jace and I were barely taking anything and they were just swallowing it like pills.

Our eyes met across the coffee table form our separate seats, the couch to my left and Jace's right, the place where Jonathan and Kaelie were casually lying together, taking another drink. Jace and I faked the drinks, not caring about the intoxication aspect.

He nudged his head to the left, and I followed the gaze to the window that led to the pool. I brought my brows together, confused. I know he wanted to go swimming, but Jonathan and Kaelie weren't there yet.

A giggle pulled Jace and me out of our silent conversation, and I found that I came from Kaelie. She was trying to suppress her laughter as my brother teased her side under the blanket.

It was enough to make me want to throw up.

"Get a room," Jace said honestly.

Jonathan glared at him. "You can leave."

"Don't have to tell me twice," I pointed out. "I don't want to see you and Kaelie doing whatever it is you do. Good God."

So with that, I stood and dropped the blanket to the chair, leaving the three of them alone. Jace's eyes followed me to the stairs, I heard him mutter some excuse about getting some water before moving towards the kitchen and detouring up the stairs to follow me.

I had just gotten into room and turned as he emerged inside, smiling at me when he closed the door. It wasn't a seductive smile, but more of a relieved smile.

"You have a toothbrush?" he asked. "I think I threw up down there at some point."

I chuckled and moved to the bed, tapping the spot next to me that Jace took without question. "That was horrendous. Jonathan doesn't understand boundaries when he drinks."

"He doesn't understand them sober either."

"Touché," I laughed, sliding back to the headboard and grabbing the TV remote, turning it on. Jace slid back with me, moving to wrap his arm around my shoulder. I let him, sliding into his side and wrapping my arm around his middle. It was weird how comfortable I was with him one on one like this. It wasn't just physical like earlier. Our relationship was… well, everything. It really was.

We were silent for a while, watching Elena on the Vampire Diaries as Jace played with my fingers on his stomach. I watched how his expert, piano, rough football hands swallowed mine whole, his other hand rubbing thumb circles on my exposed skin of my upper arm.

"So," he said after a while at the commercial. "You still want to go swimming?"

I nodded. "But shouldn't we wait until Jonathan and Kaelie come upstairs to do the dirty," I teased.

"We can go now. They won't care at this point. And I think Jonathan started to get to that level where we will be invisible."

Yup, I knew what that meant.

"Besides, if we just swim and talk for a while, there's nothing that they can be suspicious about. It's just two friends, going swimming to look at the stars and chat." He wrapped his fingers around mine, squeezing lightly. "Nothing dangerous and open about it."

I thought about it for a moment before moving to look at him. I pressed my lips to his lightly, giving him a small smile. "Help me with my bathing suit?"

He leaned forward and kissed me softly. I took that as a yes.

* * *

I sat on the edge of the pool, my feet dangling with my hands by my legs. Jace was by my side, but in the pool, his arms holding him up next to me.

"They're just making out." He pointed towards the house, and I turned to see Jonathan and Kaelie still on the couch through the window, oblivious to the world.

"At least we have the decency to be private."

"So private that no one knows," he said, kicking his feet up and pulling away from the ledge, hovering in the water. "Not that it bothers me. I find it exciting that I have to pull you into janitor closets at school to kiss you. Or you know, the pantry at my house. In the care when I'm 'dropping you off at home' and we happen to stop at the park. Honestly, I'm not complaining."

I blushed at the thought of earlier that day. "You basically scared the shit out of me when you did that, by the way."

"Nonesense," he said. "You loved it."

"Doesn't mean it didn't scare me first."

"Anyway," he teased, "What are you doing tomorrow for Memorial Day? Since school is out and all, the parents are gone on a cruise, I was wondering if we could get the crew together and go to the lake or something. I have a pick-up game tomorrow with some guys from school, but we can go after."

"Depends on Jonathan's headache in the morning," I said, shrugging one shoulder. "I mean, he could be awake at 8:00 in the morning or at night. I have no idea."

Jace swam towards me. "So we leave him."

"I can't."

He sighed, gesturing for me to get in the pool. I did, sliding down, but I wasn't tall enough to touch the bottom, so I had to hold onto the side of the pool.

Jace noticed and moved to the other side, pulling me along as he continued talking. "How about this: we ask Isabelle and Simon what they're doing? I mean, Alec is the only other person and he's in Hong Kong for the summer with Magnus, so we only have a limited number of friends."

"And Sebastian is out in New York," I pointed out. "Julian and Emma are in California."

"And Meliorn is in Australia with his family." He smiled as he leaned against the side, one elbow out. "We really have no choice but to hang out with each other."

"How sad," I lied. "I mean, that's what my life has come to? I have no other friends to spend time with than my best friend and her brother?"

His hand came forward, grabbing my hand secretly in the water. "Your life is so hard."

"Terrible," but a smile broke through my lips as he smirked down at me.

Jace's eyes turned towards the window, and his smirk grew into a smile. "The lovebirds are gone."

I glanced towards the window and saw that the couch was vacant, meaning…

Without hesitation, I reached up and grabbed Jace's face, pulling his lips down to mine. He turned and pinned me against the wall of the pool, the water up to our waists and pushing and pulling us, causing our movements to be a little sloppy. Jace's hands were on my bare hips as mine roamed his shoulders and his wet hair.

He pulled my hips towards him, rubbing us together and I moaned into his mouth, a his lips turning up in a smile. We may not have slept together yet, something that I wasn't ready for of course, but he had no shame in teasing me about it constantly when we were together.

Jace pulled back slightly, letting me catch my breath and hoisted my body onto his hips. My legs wrapped around his waist, my arms around his neck, feeling his body heat mixed with the colder water.

He just pulled me close, pressing a kiss to my shoulder here and there softly, a few on my collarbone. It was relaxing, soothing. Something he always did was never get too crazy with it. He'd get too excited, realize it, and then he'd calm me down with soft and sensual touches. It's something that I loved when we were together in this way.

"Jace?" I asked as he stilled his hands on my lower back and pulled away a bit. "Um, I was wondering something?"

His eyebrow quirked up. "What's up, love?"

Love. He always called me that. It was my favorite nickname. "Have you ever wanted this to go… further?"

"I'm seventeen," he answered flatly.

That was about all the answer I really expected. I nodded, actually thinking about it. I mean, this wasn't the first time that sex with Jace popped into my head, but it scared the crap out of me when it did. Something so… intense with someone like Jace would be hard to hide around everyone.

"Hey." He leaned up and kissed me lightly. "Relax. That was a joke. I told you that I'm not rushing anything. We could do it next week, next month, or next year. I don't care. I really don't."

"But you do," I inquired.

"But I don't," He emphasized. "I promise. What you want is what I want. Honest." He paused. "Besides, we should probably tell Jonathan and the others before we even think about getting to that point, ya know?"

I nodded, kissing him lightly one more time. I didn't realize that while he was holding me, he managed to move us to the deep end of the pool again. The water was up to his neck, but there was no way I could even touch the bottom.

"Is this your trick to keep me around?" I asked teasingly, kissing his neck a few times. "Forcing me into the deep end?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. I don't get you to myself all that often, so I'm not exactly going to just let you swim around by yourself." He kissed me hard, hard enough to make my head spin. "You're stuck with me until morning."

I smiled against his mouth. "You won't see me complaining."

* * *

"Okay, next question."

Jace nodded, his hand running through my freshly showered hair. We were on my bed, his back against the headboard and my head in his lap, my feet dangling off the side of the bed. We were in our pajamas: my boy shorts and tank top and Jace in his athletic shorts.

"Go for it," he said, his other hand grabbing mine that wasn't holding my phone.

I scrolled through the questionnaire that I found on Tumblr. Finding rather interesting questions. One of them intrigued me, and I found myself wanting to know the answer. "Do you believe in love at first sight?"

We'd been doing this for about an hour, and Jace surprisingly was still up for it. Even though it was 1 in the morning, and this question he answered as honestly as the others.

"Not really, actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Love at first sight has always been a stupid idea to me. You don't fall in love with someone when you see them. You can fall in love with their looks, but that's just infatuation. So you can be infatuated at first sight, but not in love at first sight."

I was actually kind of shocked by his answer, so I tilted my head and looked at his up-side down face. "You're so hipster."

That brought a laugh out of him. "I am not. People just don't know these things about me."

"Why not?"

"They don't ask, I guess. Jonathan isn't one to ask me that. Alec isn't either. Isabelle and I don't get along. And every girl besides you was so focused on the physical aspect of me. Not the emotional?" He leaned down and kissed me lightly on the lips. "That's why I don't mind being with you."

I blushed and turned back to my phone before he turned my brain to mush. "Okay, do you believe in true love?"

"Do you?"

For a moment, I thought about it. My silence went on just in time as my door started to open.

Jace and I acted without a thought. I sat up quickly as he rolled off the bed with ninja speed, falling to the floor with the bed between himself and the door. In the darkness, it was impossible to see him even from my position. But I causally lied down, my phone in my hands as the door finished opening and Jonathan stepped inside.

"Clary? What was that noise?"

"I dropped the remote to the TV," I answered quickly and looked at the time. "Jonathan? It's 1:08. Is everything okay?"

He nodded as I turned on the lamp. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jace kind of slip under the bed, but luckily Jonathan wasn't aware of a thing.

My brother walked towards me as he talked. "I guess I couldn't sleep. I never really can when I drink too much and my head is killing me right now."

He sat next to me, my nerves started to get a little jumpy at the idea of being caught with Jace. But he seemed a little out of it still, so I hoped he couldn't observe as much as normal. "Anything I can do?"

"I wanted to go get some water and Advil, but I couldn't find the bottle."

"You want Gatorade, not water. It'll stop your hangover."

"We don't have any."

"It's in the cooler in the pantry."

He sighed. "Can you get it for me?" His eyes added a 'please' and I wanted to say no. But I couldn't.

"Fine," I said, getting up and pulling him with me. "But after this, you're going straight to bed with Kaelie."

He nodded. "Yes, baby sister."

I gently pushed him out the door, my hand steady on his back, and looked back just as Jace's head popped up from the other side of the bed. He smirked and winked at me playfully.

"By the way, where is Jace?" Jonathan asked, his hand going out to the wall to steady himself. "He wasn't on the couch. I thought he was on the couch, but he wasn't. So I don't know where he is."

My eyes were torn from my room, back down the hallway. "I think he might have gone home already," I said. "Something about a pickup game tomorrow or whatnot." Jonathan nodded and grabbed his head painfully, taking my answer and forgetting about it.

That was a close one.

* * *

"Well, that wasn't stressful," I mumbled as I slid back into bed. Jace made some room for me as I put my head on his chest, pulling the covers over us.

He stroked my arm lightly. "Too bad we didn't get caught. I'd love to see your brother's face when he finds out you're not so innocent. And besides, could you imagine him trying to fight me when he's drunk?"

"You'd kick his ass."

He nodded. "Don't act like you wouldn't enjoy it."

"True. An embarrassed Jonathan is one of my favorite things in this world."

He pulled me tighter, settling into the embrace. "So is that why you started to like me? Because I could embarrass your brother?"

"It might be a bit of a perk."

"Unbelievable," he mumbled, but I could tell he wasn't really that upset. He reached over and turned off the lamp. "Good to know you just use me for your amusement."

I shrugged. "There are other aspects of course."

Suddenly, the light turned back on and Jace pulled me up a little, forcing me to look at his amused eyes. "What aspects?"

With the realization of what he was asking, my cheeks flushed and I buried it in his chest again. "Um, nothing."

"That's not nothing."

"Yes it is."

He rolled us over until I was under him, my hands trapped in his by my head and my face looking up at him. I turned away and he shook his head, leaning in that direction. "Clary?"

"Jace."

His golden eyes were dancing with amusement. "It's the sneaking around, isn't it?"

I shook my head. "No."

"That's part of it. You like the idea that I kiss you–" and to prove the point, he leaned down and did just that, kissing me for a few seconds until my heart started to speed up a little bit before he pulled back and continued, " – and your brother and my sister don't know. You sneaky little vixen."

"Don't pretend you know everything about me," I shot back, but the small smile and teasing glint in his eyes showed that he knew I was lying in a way.

He kissed my forehead, leaving my hands free and rolling over a bit. I rolled with him until we faced each other on our sides, one of our intertwining between us. "You don't really think I don't know you, right?"

I was caught off guard by his self-consciousness, but to lighten the mood back up, I said, "Why, Jace, I do believe that isn't confidence in your voice this time."

He chuckled. "Shut up."

"And you know that's not what I meant."

"I just don't want you to think that I don't want to know you. We may have only started this a while back, but I really do care about you. Where the sneaking around aspect is fun and all, I care about you in the traditional way too, like the talking, the getting to know you, the good and the bad." He leaned forward and pressed our foreheads together. "Until I find out something about you that runs me off."

I lightly shoved him. "Asshole."

He pulled me back to him, his chest vibrating with a laugh. "You think that we're ever going to tell them?"

I nodded into his chest. "Yes."

"When?"

"When the time is right."

"Cause that's not cliché or anything."

I looked up at him, reaching up and brushing a piece of hair from his eyes. "Let's give it a week, okay? Unless we get caught."

He nodded with a smile. "I don't care if they know or not really, as long as it doesn't interrupt my time with you."

"Isn't that sweet?"

"No," he claimed, rolling us again and pressing his lips to mine. "It's manly."

"You're an idiot."

"I'm your idiot," he said into my mouth, and then I let it go and kissed him back. And in my haze, I felt him reach over and turned the light off again, surrounding ourselves in darkness and each other.

And someday, how know when, we'd tell the others. Lord knows how they'd actually react…

* * *

 **THAT'S A WRAP! At least, it is for this one. Well, that one was fun to write, so thanks for the suggestions! It was an interesting idea, and I hope you guys like it as well. The ideas are great that are coming in, by the way, and I'm writing as fast as I can! I'm sorry if I miss a few here and there though, really. I wish I could write all of them!  
**

 **So stay tuned for the next one, hopefully coming soon. :)**


	6. Like Father, Like Son

**I'm glad you guys are enjoying this! Here You Go for the next one:**

 **To your next one, it would be good to see how Jace and Clary would handle a couple of teenagers, like a daughter and a son at dating ages and being just like their parents.**

* * *

Clary walked into the living room to find her husband staring out the window… again. He was in his sweatpants, his chest out to look intimidating. She rolled her eyes at the idea and leaned against the wall.

"Jace?"

He sighed but didn't turn. "Yes?"

"You need to stop stressing out about them. It's only eleven. Curfew is twelve. They don't have to be back by now."

"Another way to say that is: it's eleven o'clock. They should be here by now. Curfew is irrelevant."

Clary stepped forward, wrapping her arms around her husband and pressing her cheek to his back. "You act like this is a surprise to you. Katherine and Kaden will be back when they're done with their dates."

He shook his head. "They're seventeen. I don't care if they're twins, if they're together, and that it's just bowling on a Friday night. It's unacceptable."

She stepped back, rolling her eyes. "Honestly, do you not remember what you were like back then as a senior in high school?"

"That's exactly why they should be back here so they don't get into trouble."

With a forceful hand, she grabbed Jace's and laced their fingers, pulling him away from the window. "Just come to bed and relax. They'll get here when they get here."

"How can you be so calm about this?" he looked over his shoulder again at the front door before she pulled him down the hall and out of view. "Honestly, you're not even nervous that our kids are out on their own doing God knows what with who the hells knows?"

She chuckled. "No, honey, I'm not."

"Why?"

Finally, she pulled him into the room and forced him to sit on the bed. "Jace," she stepped between his legs, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "We raised those kids. I promise you that they're going to be fine. Katherine is a good girl, and Kaden, although a troublemaker, isn't an idiot."

"Doesn't mean he won't do something stupid," Jace mumbled.

She smiled at his grumpiness and leaned down, kissing her husband quickly on the lips. "Stop worrying, okay?"

* * *

"Kaden," Katherine said from her spot in Michael's lap in the back of the truck. "You do realize that this is a stupid idea, right?"

Her brother shook his head, his blonde curls that were identical to his father's flying about. He was crouching down over the fireworks, his girlfriend, Madison, holding the matches ready. "It's a great idea, sister."

Michael chuckled. "You sure these things won't just blow up in your face? I mean, dude, I wouldn't trust them if you built them."

"When have you known any of my ideas to fail?"

Madison looked at him with a stupid look. "You really want all of us to answer that?"

He paused then shrugged. "Okay, but how many of my plans have come through and gave you guys the time of your life? You remember the cliff jumping off of Highlands point?" The three couldn't help but agree. That was actually a blast. "And what about ghost hunting at Dragon's Roost in the forest."

Michael tensed under Katherine at the mention of that. "Excuse you? I almost died. That ghost nearly killed me."

"There wasn't a ghost," Madison claimed, standing and leaving her boyfriend to head back to the truck, hopping inside and taking a seat. "You at like you were actually in danger."

"I had bruises." He lifted his shirt, pointing to his abs. "Like six of them, like I was punched. And how do you explain the red marks around my neck, huh?"

Madison shrugged. "I know Katherine is kinky. That explains enough."

Katherine nearly spat out the water she was drinking. "WHAT?"

"Easy, babe," Michael chuckled, pulling her back into his chest. "She's kidding."

"Am I?"

He glared at her, but there was still amusement. "You just love to tease my girlfriend, don't you?"

"She's my boyfriend's sister. If I can't get along with her, I might as well just break up with him. I mean, being siblings is one thing, but twins… it's an all or nothing king deal."

Katherine and Kaden both let out a "true" at the same time, looking at each other and smiling.

"I think it's ready," Kaden said, jumping up from the grass with a big smile on his face. "This is about to awesome."

Katherine shook her head and whispered, "We're going to die," in Michael's ear, earning a small smile from him. "We should probably get to the getaway bike before the trouble begins."

"Agreed," he said, standing up and hopping off the truck. Katherine followed, jumping on Michael's back for a piggy-back ride as her brother started to light a match. Michael stopped for a second, giving him a last worried look. "Are you sure that–"

He didn't get the question out. The firework that Kaden had made shot up into the air in front of the Aldertree mansion, shooting into the sky. The stars faded out under the yellow and white light. It curved with a loud noise towards the house, and exploded.

Katherine's face buried into Michael's shoulder with the noise. He stared in awe and shock. Kaden stood proud as his girlfriend hopped off the truck, going to his side and taking his hand as she watched.

The firework, when it erupted, shot out two gallons of rotten eggs that had accumulated inside. Kaden was devious and dangerous, and stupid. It was official when the stench started to hit as the pieces fell to the ground, 50 yards in front of them all across the big house.

After it ended, no one moved. No one said a word. Katherine was just holding onto Michael in shock, still staring.

"Damn," was all that her boyfriend could say.

"I," Kaden said slowly. "Am a genius."

"You– you're an idiot."

He looked at his girlfriend with confusion. "What?"

"You just dropped rotten eggs on the governor's house. Yeah, he and your dad are friends, but that doesn't stop him from–"

Sirens in the distance kicked the teenagers into gear. Michael dropped Katherine (carefully but quickly) to the ground and they sprinted to his bike at warp speed. He tossed her a helmet, strapping them on and jumping on the bike. Kaden and Madison took off, hopping into the truck and getting it started. Together, the four gassed it out of the driveway, Michael popping a wheeling in the process.

Katherine's heart was pounding in her chest as the front wheel hit the ground again. Her arms were tight around Michael's big torso, her cheek pressed against his back. She loved the adrenaline in riding his bike, something her dad couldn't stand. Especially now, with everything that just happened, she felt like her entire body was pounding.

The cops flew passed them when they were about a mile away from the now nasty smelling house. Michael chuckled as Katherine hid her face, like that would help her or something.

There was a honk as Kaden took a different turn, leading down a different road. Katherine waved him off, wondering if he was heading home at all. When they pulled up to an empty stop sign, Michael pulled off his helmet and looked back at her.

"Am I taking you home?"

She lifted the visor, shrugging one shoulder. "It's only," she looked at her watch, "thirty minutes until midnight. My dad isn't expecting me back until twelve and I think I could just show up later with an excuse."

"You do realize that a guy like your dad translates that to ten, right?" he chuckled. "Technically, you're late for curfew."

"Then, I'm already in trouble," she smiled devilishly. "So," she leaned forward, giving Michael a long kiss. "Why not just make it a little worse, right?"

* * *

Kaden smiled into Madison's kiss as they crawled into the backseat. His truck was parked in the school parking lot, in the back, where they always parked to do what they. The music was playing through the speakers, a set list that Madison made a long time ago.

She reached down and pulled his t-shirt off, pulling her sweatshirt off in the process. Their lips connected again as they settled into the larger seats in the back, Madison's dark, black hair falling like a curtain around them. Kaden held her face to his, pulling her tighter and harder into him.

After a while though, she pulled back.

He looked up at her with confusion. It was too dark to really see any true details of her face, but he could see the outline that she wasn't just relaxed like she should be. "You okay?"

"Did you hear something?" She looked out the back window, confusion setting in.

He shook his head. "Babe, we come here all the time. No one knows. You probably just imagined it."

"But–"

He sat up, his lips connecting with her neck. "Stop worrying." He kissed across her now exposed collarbones, slowly flipping them over and forcing her to relax. She did, her hands exploring his chest and back and arms.

His hands trailed to her back, and she slowly arched it so he could reach. Her black, lacey bra loosened, but they didn't break the kiss. Kaden, for one, wasn't someone that just gawked and stared and made girls feel uncomfortable. He kissed her slowly, running his hands down her arms as she waited for her signal.

"You don't always have to ask," she whispered into his lips.

He pulled back enough to look her in the eye. "Yes I do. Something my dad taught me." He kissed her forehead. "It's never my speed, alright? It's yours, every time. You know that, right?"

"I don't understand you," she chuckled, reaching up and pulling him down closer. "I mean, you make rockets full of rotten eggs that make me think you're still twelve years old, and then you say something like that. Are you even real?"

He smiled. "I'd hope so. I don't want this to be a dream, I can promise that much."

"Well, to answer the question." She reached behind her, pulling the straps down and gently dropping the bra to the floor. He took a deep breath, pressing their foreheads together momentarily before he grabbed her hands, holding them tightly and kissing her again.

He let go of her hands, trailing them down her arms. One stopped and pressed against the seat, holding him up as the other trailed down her bare chest now, passed her stomach, to the button on her jeans. "Madie, I–"

A gun shot sounded, causing both teenagers to panic. The front window of Kaden's truck shattered in, and he ended up falling to the floor in a panic. Madison screamed.

He was able to glance up just as the door to the backseat opened. His first thought was ' _shit'_ thinking that some random guy was going to kill them. But when the door swung open completely, he saw a man in uniform. And then he thought ' _Ohhhh. Shit_.' But then…

He saw the face. The man in the police uniform had the same hair he did. The same face. The same jaw line. The same stance. And then he thought ' _Oh. Mother. Fucking. Shit_."

Kaden swallowed the bile coming up in his throat. "Hi… Dad."

Jace looked down on him, ignoring Madison as she grabbed her shirt, immediately covering herself up and trying her best to become invisible. But Kaden was stuck on the floor between the seats, unable to move or breathe.

"Get dressed," was all the Jace said as he shut the door.

"We're screwed," Madison said, giving Kaden a look of horror.

He nodded. "You're screwed. I'm fucked."

* * *

Katherine frowned as she saw her mother's number pop up on her phone. She was almost home, and her mother never called at this point.

She pointed to the side of the road, where Michael pulled over so she could answer.

"Mom?"

"Where the hell are you!?"

That tone was NOT good. "Um, with Michael. I'm a few minutes from home. Why?"

"Get him to bring you to the police station. Your father wants to talk to you. To both of you."

 _Both of_ … Michael gave her a weird look when she completely tensed behind him, the color draining from her face. "Okay."

Then her mother hung up. No goodbye or anything.

"Kaden was caught."

Without a second though, Michael burst out laughing. But at the look on her face, he figured that he should stop and shifted, looking at her a little more sternly. "Um, why are you not laughing?"

She pressed her forehead to his back, taking a deep breath. "My dad would've found him. That's how Kaden would've been caught. My dad can find out anything."

He put his hand on her knee, taking a deep breath. "So, you and he are in a ton of trouble?"

"Yup, and if he and Madison were caught doing what I know that he was probably doing, then he's going to be dead."

"Oh man," Michael said with understanding. "I can't even imagine. You're dad isn't exactly rational."

She nodded, fixing her helmet and settling back on the bike. "Just… take me to the station."

He nodded, and the ride there was quiet. The city was pretty asleep at this point, very few drivers on the road. It was a simple drive to the station. They managed to get there without getting into more trouble, and they pulled up right where Michael was sitting on the curb, his head in his hands.

She slipped off the bike and when Michael tried too, she shook her head. "You should probably go," she said, taking her helmet off. "I'll see you whenever I'm out of trouble, no longer grounded, and hopefully alive."

He fell back on the bike, nodding. "Good luck."

After they kissed goodbye and Michael was gone, she took the spot next to her brother. It was quiet between the two of them, and when she looked up and saw that his windshield of his truck had a… bullet hole? She gave him a look.

"Um, bro? Your truck is kind of…"

He nodded without lifting his head. "Dad shot it."

"He shot it?!"

"With his glock. Right through the windshield and then proceeded to open the door on a shirtless me and Madison that were scared out of our minds and might I mention that her bra might have been on the floor and luckily he found us then instead of ten minutes later after a condom wrapper would've been on the floor."

With that news, she dropped her head to her hands. "Yup, it's as bad as I expected."

"And apparently, Aldertree called the police when he saw us in his yard earlier. That's how they got there so fast. He knew it was us before anything even happened. The original call was for trespassing."

"So they probably called Dad when he saw your truck."

Kaden nodded. "Yup."

She fell back in the grass behind the curb, staring up at the stars. "Are we going to make it out of this alive?"

Kaden didn't even sugarcoat it. "No."

* * *

"I know what you're thinking," Clary said as she leaned against Jace's desk, watching her husband pace back and forth behind it. "And you can't throw your son into jail."

"I'm the Chief of Police. I could if I wanted to."

"Jace."

"Clary."

She sighed and sat in the seat, still watching him pace a hole in the floor. "So what are we going to do?"

He ran a hand through his shorter, but still long, golden hair. "Did we raise our kids to cause trouble like this and disobey us?"

She slumped down in the seat. "They make straight A's, are captains of both soccer teams, and they've got scholarship offers from at least three schools each. I mean, they could've turned out worse."

"They trespassed, draped the governor's house with a rocket full of rotten eggs, and I caught my son at the school, illegally, trying to have sex with his girlfriend, which I do NOT approve of. Actually, I think I'm going to kick his ass."

"Babe, you need to calm down."

"I'm not calming down! He's a freaking menace, Clary!"

She stood and walked over to the other side of the desk, hopping up. Her legs dangled off the edge as she watched him pace. "You're going to burn a hole in the floor."

"I already put one in our son's window."

"And I'm sure that did a number on him. You've already scared the boy senseless. I saw his face when you pulled him out of your car, with his hands cuffed. I mean, Jace, he's terrified."

"He should be," he said, opening and closing his fists. "I wanted to do a lot more than that. He's lucky I let his little girlfriend off the hook. Both of them are. Michael and Madison could be in just as much trouble if I wanted to."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Jace, seriously? They're kids and they're being adventurous. Don't make their lives miserable."

"I will if I have to. I need to make a point."

Finally, she reached out and grabbed him as he walked by this time, forcing their gazes to meet.

"You don't have to," she said softly. "I'll talk to Kaden. You probably need to talk to Katherine."

He sighed, pressing his face into the crook of her neck. To her, he looked and felt distressed. "Katherine isn't the one I'm worried about."

"Kaden will be fine once we talk to him," Clary said, rubbing his back gently. "He already knows that what he did was wrong, we just need to emphasize. Okay?"

* * *

"Seriously, stop freaking out," Katherine said again and again, looking at her brother. "I mean, it's etched all in your face. And you know how dad is. He can smell fear from a mile away like a lion."

"I'm so screwed," he mumbled into his arms, his body still pulled into a ball on the curb of the sidewalk. "If I die tonight, tell Madison I'm sorry and I love her and tell Justin that he's always been my best friend and tell Marcus that he can have my captain spot and tell Uncle Alec and Aunt Isabelle that–"

She slapped her brother in the back of the head. Hard.

"Ow!"

"Shut up and stop being a child." He glared at her, but she continued. "We both screwed up, so we're both going to deal with these punishments. The world isn't ending. Dad is just pissed. And it's not going to get any better if you don't grow a pair of balls in the next thirty seconds."

"I–"

"Kaden. Katherine."

They both turned immediately, looking at their parents in the streetlight. Both adults still looked furious, but it was kind of died down a little now. Kaden breathed a sigh of relief, but Katherine could tell he was still out of it.

"Come with me," Jace said, walking back inside.

They both passed their mom, who gave them a small smile but didn't follow. That made Katherine feel… nervous. Their dad was always more relaxed with their mom around, and they really needed her to be around this time.

"Sit down," he commanded, pointing to the two seats in his office.

They sat, neither one even breathing, really, as their dad leaned against the desk with his arms crossed.

"Are we going to jail?" Kaden asked out of the blue.

Katherine glared at him.

Their dad just shook his golden head. "I want to, but no, you're not going to jail. Aldertree wants me to keep you there for a few days, but I'm not doing it."

They both let out a sigh of relief, smiling at each other.

"Don't think you're getting off easy," Jace interrupted, pulling the smiles from their lips. "You do realize how stupid both of you were tonight." He pointed his eyes at Kaden. "You especially. I raised you to be smart. I don't care about pranks and jokes, but when you end up pulling me out of the house at midnight because I get a call from one of my deputies, I'm not going to be happy."

"I said I was sorry–"

"Kaden, shut up," Jace demanded. Kaden did. He leaned back with his hands on his desk. "You do realize how disappointed I am in the both of you, right?"

 _Here we go_ , Katherine thought to herself. The 'I'm disappointed' speech.

"Of all the people, you pick Aldertree. Now if you would've gone after the Verlac's or put rotten fish in the back of the Blackwell's truck, I wouldn't have cared. Probably would've laughed, but you two–" he paused "–you two morons decided to go after one of the most powerful men in the city. So don't think you're getting off of this easy, because you're both going to be punished for a very. Long. Time."

Katherine swallowed against the worry in her throat.

"And on top of everything, I found Kaden with Madison, a discussion you and I are going to have later," he said with a pointed gaze. Kaden looked away, obviously uncomfortable. "And you," he pointed at Katherine this time, "are going to have a talk with your mother. I don't know where you were, but I'm sure that you were with Michael and if you're anything like your brother, which you're twins so you should be, I have a feeling I know what you were up to."

"But Dad–"

His eyes shut her up instantly. "Stop talking and keep listening. I'm not going to forbid you from seeing them, because that will just make you rebellious. But you're going to see them under my terms, and you better believe that I will have people in the city on the lookout. I'm the chief of police, so don't try anything stupid. Otherwise your lives really will be a living hell. Understand?"

They both nodded, feeling very small and insecure. Their father could be intimidating, and they had a feeling that this wasn't even over.

Because it wasn't.

"Now," Jace continued, standing straighter. "About the punishments…"

Katherine and Kaden turned and met their gazes. The same thing shone in their matching, gold/green eyes.

 _We're dead._

* * *

Jace walked into their bedroom, collapsing on the bed. The clock might have read 1:45 AM, but he felt like he'd been up for an extra four hours. He was too old for this shit.

Clary slid in beside him, sitting up and rubbing his shoulders where his shirt would've covered, if he had one on. Her artistic fingers danced across his skin, smoothing his muscles out. The stress started to ease out of his body as he pushed his face into the pillow, humming happily whenever she bent down and kissed his back or neck or shoulders.

He wasn't sure how long they stayed like that until she got off of him and lied down next to him, his t-shirt swallowing her frame like it has for 20 years. He leaned forward and kissed her softly.

"Feeling better?" she asked, running her hands over his face.

His own hands came up and tucked under the pillow and he closed his eyes. "I'm still exhausted and pissed, but hopefully they learned their lessons."

"They will after the community service, car restrictions, extra chores, double the amount of school work, and earlier curfew and cutting them off from any money for 4 months."

He nodded but opened his eyes. "Do you think it was too harsh?"

She shook her head. "No, honey. I think that we may have given them lineage on stuff they've done before, but they need to be put in their place before they head off to college soon. They're growing up, and they need to mature. We're their parents, not their friends."

He nodded and rolled over onto his back. Clary immediately tucked into his side and his hands found her hair, playing with her curls.

"And I like to think that we're good parents, Jace," she said, tracing the skin of his stomach. They weren't the toned abs that they once were, but he was still fit.

"Our kids are hellions."

"They're good kids," she corrected. "They just grew up to be too much like you in the adventurous department."

He chuckled. "Do you remember after graduation when we decided to wrap the principle's car? And spray paint 'douche bag' on the back window?"

She laughed with him, nodding her head. "What about the time when we broke into the school and stole all of the weights out of the weight room for the senior prank? And they ended up punishing Alec and Jonathan."

"Yes!" Jace kissed her hair with a smile on his face. "Those two took the heat for us for some damn reason. But I don't regret a thing."

"You know what my favorite hellion memory is?"

"What?"

She leaned her head up and had a mischievous glint in her eyes. Just that look made all of his exhausted disappear and suddenly, Jace was wide awake.

Her lips met his neck, a gentle but playful kiss pressed against the pulse there. "You remember the time, when I turned seventeen, and you snuck me out of my house at midnight the night of birthday?"

He swallowed at the memory. "You think I would forget?"

"Your brother found us just after we… you know…"

He nodded, picking up her chin with his fingers. "Had sex?"

Even now, that talk made a blush show on her cheeks. "It was my first time with you. You were so gentle." She kissed his cheek. "And strong." She kissed his chin. "And fit." She kissed the corner of his mouth, her lips hovering over his. "And seductive."

He pressed his lips to hers after that, his hands on her hips and holding her close. She moved to straddle him, smiling against his lips.

Clary kissed him one last time before pulling away a little. "If it wasn't for Alec, Maryse would've cut your thing off when she found us. And my mother would've put a paintbrush through your chest. And my dad, god forbid he found out. Even though we were married, he was still pissed at the fact I was pregnant. He and Jonathan are just too protective."

"My dad almost did when he found the box of condoms in my car," he pointed out, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "But I swear to God, I don't care if the kids are the same age that we were. They're too young to be that serious."

"That's a bit hypocritical," she chuckled.

He shrugged and pulled his wife back towards her. "They're exactly how we were, and that's what worries me."

"They'll be fine," she assured him, pressing her lips to his ear.

"Help me forget about it?" he asked playfully.

She smirked when she pulled away. "How, pray tell, would I manage that?"

"I think you can come up with a few ideas."

And she did. To the point that Jace had nothing on his mind but his beautiful wife, the woman that had his heart and could stop it with just one look. Even though the kids are lunatics, Jace was more than thankful for his family. And he wouldn't have it any other way.

Well, maybe a little less stressful, but thank god he had her by his side, or he'd really lose his mind.

* * *

 **So that was surprisingly fun and enjoyable to write. Hopefully it seemed in character! Let me know what you think! :)**


	7. Baby Names

**I love your one-shots and your writting! They are amazing! Could you do one in which clary is pregnant and jace is really happy and they try to choose baby names or something like that? And can you make ir really fluffy and adorable pleasee?**

 **And to that ask, I say: here ya go!**

* * *

Clary was lying on the couch, her head in Jace's lap with her back on the sofas as she looked through the baby names. She had a list, and they had gone through it 1000 times but nothing seemed to really stick out to them. And they only had a few weeks left before the big day. They needed to make a decision.

But it was hard for her to concentrate sometimes. The little guy (yes, it's a boy) growing in her tummy was like her father – feisty and always on the move. He would wake her at night with kicks and punches. He always seemed to press right up against her bladder. And somehow, Jace always seemed to distract her by rubbing his hands all over the massive melon of a stomach she had, like he was currently doing.

Her shirt was pulled up to the top of her stomach, the book resting against it as Jace's fingers danced along her skin. The TV was on and he was just watching the World Cup, something they both had been doing together since it started.

"Ehhhh!" Jace cheered, lifting his hand in victory quickly with a smile on his face. "Christen Press scored a hell of a shot," he said with a smirk. "I knew I always loved her."

Clary glared at him. "Do you now?"

"Not as much as you," said instantly, pecking the top of her forehead. "Or the little guy." His hand ran over her stomach again, causing goosebumps. "Don't get jealous yet."

"That's what I thought," she said with a playful attitude. "What's the score?"

"USA is up by one. Australia only has one still, but that was still a damn good goal they had in the first half. I mean, shit. That was insane."

"That's not very American of you."

He shrugged. "I appreciate good soccer from anyone. Now, I still want USA to kick their ass, but it is what it is."

She rolled her eyes, going back to her book. A few minutes later, she asked, "What about Justin?"

"I don't like it," Jace said instantly, grabbing her hand in his and absentmindedly playing with her fingers. "I don't want something so plain and just ugh unless it's got a reason behind it."

"Then I need your help."

"I'm telling you yes or no. That was the deal. You pick, and when I agree, that's the name. This is your kid, just as much as it is mine. Therefore, it is ours. So, we have to be in agreement. But I also know that anything I say will not work because you didn't come up with it first. Out of stubbornness, you want to say you picked it." He gave her a tilted smile. "Right?"

She didn't want to answer him and boost his ego so she just looked back the book.

"What about…" She thumbed through the pages. "Kadence?"

Jace hesitated. "Not bad, but I still don't know."

"Jace–"

"Sit up for a second."

She did, wondering what he was doing, but he moved until he lied down beside her. She wasn't sure if it was the kid or the butterflies that made her stomach feel all queasy when Jace pulled her down with him, tucking her into his side. Her back was to his front, the book now spread before the both of them.

But his eyes still stayed glued to the TV.

"Nice try, but I see what you did there."

He chuckled, kissing her neck and playing with her braid. "Babe, there is just no pleasing you."

"You've pleased me enough to get a baby out of it."

He chuckled. "That right. I only use you as a baby making machine. Otherwise, I don't know why I married the most beautiful," he kissed behind her ear, "sexy," his lips trailed down her neck, "artistic," he reached her shoulder, "compassionate," he started down her arm and pulled it towards him, "intelligent," he kissed at her elbow, "stubborn," and he reached her hand, kissing the ring on her fourth finger, "and perfect woman I've ever met. Honestly, it makes no sense."

She was a completely red tomato at that point, smiling into his arm to hide her blush from her husband's eyes. But he could still feel it.

And he chuckled beside her. "I love you, Clary. No matter how much I joke about it."

"I know," she said, turning and looking into his deep golden eyes. "And for some reason, I love you too."

He arched and eyebrow. "For some reason?"

"Yeah," she answered. "I don't have a long list though. It's rather short actually. I guess you're just not as great as me."

"I'm hurt," he said playfully, leaning in and catching her lips with his momentarily. He teased her lower lip before he pulled back. "But I think you've boosted my ego enough throughout the years that I'll survive."

"Of course you will."

They sat there for a while after that as well, Jace still watching the game. It always blew her mind that someone like him, a jock kind of guy that always seemed superior, supported women's soccer and other women's sports. Honestly, you'd think that he'd say that it was pointless, but no. If you asked him who his favorite athletes were, you'd be surprised.

She skimmed through the names as he watched, occasionally kissing her neck, playing with her hair, running his hands over her skin. The shirt Clary was wearing was showing plenty of skin of course, but he was never modest about his want to touch his wife. That's precisely why she wore what she wore when they were in our apartment.

"Pinoe! Goal! Hell yeah!" Jace yelled in her ear, causing Clary to flinch. He instantly froze. "Shit, babe, are you okay? I'm sorry."

"God, you get loud," she laughed, rubbing her ear. "I think I'm going deaf now."

"She scored," he explained, pointing to the TV. "I think it's safe to say that the US team is winning their first game."

"You think they'll put Alex in now?"

He nodded. "She's recovered pretty well. I'm sure she'll go in for Sydney or Abby."

Clary's stomach started to growl just after that statement, and it was loud. "Um, Jace?"

"Hungry?" he teased. She nodded. "You're getting fat, you know."

"Whose fault is that? It's your fault I'm pregnant."

"It takes two," he shrugged. "You started it that night. I just followed your lead, so it's more your fault than mine."

"Jace," she begged.

He gave her a small wink before standing. "Come with me at least."

Clary protested but that only faltered in Jace reaching down and grabbing her, lifting her into his arms. Even with the extra weight of a kid, he was still strong enough to lift her like a child. She smiled into his shoulder as he carried the pregnant, hormonal, starving woman towards the kitchen, setting her on the counter carefully.

He stepped between her legs, Clary's belly separating them a lot but he managed to peck her lightly on the lips. "What would you like, love?"

She reached around his neck, pulling him closer and kissing him again. "I want…" Clary glanced around the kitchen cabinets. "Something good?

He shook his head. "Honey, I need more than that. What are you and the little nugget craving?"

"He's so picky," she complained, pressing her face into his neck. "I could eat everything and anything and he's never going to be satisfied."

Jace chuckled, kissing whatever skin he could reach. "You know, we really need a name so we can actually talk about him how we want to."

"Be my guest to pick one."

He pulled back and pecked her lips lightly. "Rude," he smiled. Then, he pulled away and started to rummage around the counters, pulling out random ingredients and leftovers in the fridge. Clary raised an eyebrow at what he was grabbing but she didn't say a word. It all looked good anyway.

"I already told you that whatever I say won't work so there is no point in trying."

"Jace, humor me. Please?"

He looked convinced after that. "What about Beethoven?" he chuckled, cracking and egg and dropping it in the pan over the stove. "We can call him Beet, or Beety."

She grimaced. "Jace, be serious."

"Marcus?"

"Ew."

"Ashton."

"Too generic."

"Bolin?"

"Too different."

"Leonard?"

"Did you get that off of the Big Bang Theory?"

Jace turned and winked at her. "I'm just throwing guesses out there."

"You're not helping," she claimed, rubbing her big belly. She was staring at it, wondering how something like a human being could be inside there. She was never good when it came to school and stuff, being more of an artistic, street smarts kind of girl, so something like this always fascinated her.

Jace was in front of her suddenly, pressing against her stomach with his hands and bending down. He gave her a wink before he lifted up her shirt and pressed his lips to the stretch-marked skin, rubbing it softly.

She smiled when he pressed a final kiss to it. "Tell me about him. Maybe that will help."

It took her a while to come up with something. "He's a night owl, that's for sure."

Jace chuckled. "I know that much. He's just like me in that aspect that we both keep you awake at night."

She rolled her eyes. "And he's an attention seeker. I swear, as soon as I start doing something, he'll kick and move until I'm paying attention to him again."

Jace chuckled and nodded, grabbing some sausage and cheese and hashbrowns from the fridge. "Sounds about like me too. I'm kind of nervous to raise him now."

She chuckled, kicking her feet off the counter. "If I can handle you, I can handle him."

"You are a wonder woman for a reason," he smirked. "Why don't we just call him Jace Junior?"

She shook her head. "I've seen what that does to kids. It puts an expectation on them when they're named after their father. I don't want that kind of pressure on him."

Jace seemed to think about this and shrugged. "Okay, but I still think he'll live up to anything. I mean, he has my genes. He's going to be perfect."

"And the expectations begin," she chuckled.

Jace kissed her cheek as he walked by this time, grabbing some hamburger buns. Every time he passed, he'd place a hand on her leg, or kiss her somewhere, or give her a wink. He had a blushing the whole time he was running around the kitchen, even as they talked, until he finally turned with the finished product on a plate.

Clary eyed the food with a hunger.

It was what Jace called a 'breakfast burger'. It was just a regular burger with cheese, bacon, hashbrowns, some onions crisps, ketchup, the hamburger made out of sausage, and a fried egg. Even if it sounds weird, it's freaking delicious.

She stuck her hands out. "Give me."

He chuckled and did as he was told, handing her the food and standing in front of her again, rubbing his hands along her legs slowly as they talked. "What about… Tristan?"

Clary tilted her head back and forth as she chewed. "Not bad," She said with a mouthful. "But maybe that's just the food talking."

He chuckled, taking a bit of the burger for himself. She swatted at him but he already ate it, chuckling at her reaction.

She held the burger close after that. "Mine."

He rolled his eyes. "Greedy much?"

"Yes."

"Are you wanting an athletic name or a family name or just anything that you think sounds pretty cool to you?"

Clary had to swallow before she could answer. "I don't know."

He shook his head with a smile. "That doesn't help whatsoever."

Finally, she finished her burger and put the plate down, wrapping her arms around Jace's neck. His eyes closed when she played with his curls, and he leaned into her touch. "What about…" she paused, a smile breaking through her lips. "Nathaniel? We can call him Nate or Nathan, a nickname like you have. And it's a biblical name. Something kind of common but it has a meaning behind it. And besides, my grandfather's middle name was Nathaniel. It has everything. And Tessa's brother's name was Nate, and he died taking a bullet for her. If that's not brave, I don't know what is."

Jace thought for a moment before he just leaned in and kissed her. Clary smiled into the kiss, feeling Jace's abdomen press against her stomach. She wished that he would just be born already so she could have Jace like she used to. There was always a space between them because of that, not that she didn't want the little one. She just wanted him out of her body. Nine months is a long time.

"I love it," he said, pulling back with a smile that lit up his eyes. "Nathan," he repeated. Then, he bent down, his head level with her stomach again. "Hey buddy. Hey Nathan. I'm your daddy, Jace. And your mom and I can't wait to finally meet you. I'm sure that you're going to be just as handsome as I am."

Clary laughed at that, leaning back on her hands. Jace winked at her before he continued.

"And you're going to have her striking, incredible green eyes. And I don't care what you do. You could be artistic. You could be athletic. You could be some kind of crazy computer guy that works on movies and TV shows. Hell, you could be anything and I want you to know that your mother and I will love you no matter what."

There was a kick against her stomach, like Nathan was responding. Jace felt it against his hand and beamed up at his wife.

"Cool," he breathed, obviously not expecting that.

She nodded. "I think he's a fan."

"Now onto the hard part," he said, standing straight again.

Her hands went to his belt loops. "What hard part?"

He sighed and kissed her softly, his hands moving her hair out of her face. "What are we going to do about a middle name?"

Clary's eyes widened. "Shit."

* * *

 **Your responses to these have been so encouraging! I wasn't sure how something like this would work out, but I'm so glad that you guys like them! And the suggestions are really cool and interesting! I like seeing so many point of views from you guys. Thanks so much for reading them!**

 **Stay tuned for the next one :)**


	8. Famous Magnus

**1\. That was brill , what if jace is a big star clary is a fan never in her dreams does she think she will ever meet him but one night the unexpected happens an she does its the start of something amazing between them**

 **2\. Cute stories, but what I'd really like is some Malec centered chapters.**

 **So I decided to put these two suggestions together. Hopefully, this will work out and you guys will enjoy it. I've never written ANYTHING for Alec and Magnus, and I'm hoping that this lives up to the expectations. It was fun to write!**

* * *

Alec always played the same music all the time, something that he'd done since he discovered his favorite band. They were on their fourth tour in six years, and he wasn't scared to admit that he was practically obsessed with English Love. Will, Tessa, Jem, and Woolsey were all great, but the lead singer, Magnus Bane, was his real obsession.

At first, it was just the voice. Something about the way his voice was so smooth and calming while it can go from such a low octave to high pitched made it possible for Alec to listen to him over and over again.

But then, he went through this stage on Tumblr. Magnus' looks were… different. He wore the tight pants, the glitter, the gel in his hair and he dyed it quite often. One time he'll come on stage with red streaks and the next night, he'll walk out of a club with jet black hair or green. It was a funny quirk that Alec found endearing.

At first, he wasn't in too deep. Jace teased him, but it wasn't too bad. Isabelle loved the band too and even went to a concert with Alec last year, which was by far one of the best nights of his life. They couldn't get front row seat or anything, but just being in the same atmosphere was good enough for him. Even his little brother Max asked Alec about the band all the time, like he knew that he'd get the information faster out of Alec than looking it up on the internet.

But he knew he was in too deep when certain things started rolling through his head. He wasn't reading the weird fanfiction or anything like that. Didn't write it or read it, but he found himself being just concerned for Magnus and the band.

Tessa, Jem, and Will came out to be in a threesome kind of relationships last year, and the media blew it out of proportion. It wasn't good, and Alec was so concerned with their wellbeing when they cancelled shows because of it. And Magnus at one point, when he came out as bisexual, was something that made Alec so excited but so scared. He didn't know how the media took it, and it wasn't good.

So he found himself wondering if they were ever crying or upset in their rooms at night, if they ever regretted becoming famous, if they ever wanted to just end it, quit, and leave, if they were even eating enough or eating right or working out and staying healthy. He wanted them to be okay, whether they knew him or not. He didn't care as long as they were happy.

That's the point when you know that you're in too deep.

And Alec was in way, way, way, waaaaaaay too deep.

He was listening to Stockholm Syndrome the moment that his phone started ringing by his bed. He put his computer down, ignoring the homework he should be doing and getting on Tumblr instead, but he finally answered his sister's call.

"Alec!"

He pulled it away at the loudness of her voice. "Izzy," he chuckled. "How's the party?"

"DELIGHTFUL!"

"You don't have to yell, sis."

"I'm staying with Simon," she explained over the loud music. "And I think Jace is going over to Clary's for the night. I told Mom, but she's stuck at work until morning with the way things are going and wanted me to ask you if you could go get Max."

"Where is he?"

"Martial Arts."

Alec sighed. "Yeah, I can get him. Have fun and try not to get pregnant," he joked not very convincingly.

"No promises."

* * *

Alec's car was a simple truck at least, something that kept him safe while he drove through parts of New York. His parents, even when they found out he was gay, were always worried about the safety of their kids than the environment. Jace owned a muscle car. Isabelle got the motorcycle she wanted, but you best believe that Maryse decked that thing out with every safety feature that they head. Everything but the big bubble.

He hopped in the truck in the late, Friday night air. The drive to the studio wasn't bad and he got there without a problem. Picking Max up was even easier. And they were on the twenty minute drive home as Max talked away.

"I'm three weeks away from a blue belt!"

Alec's eyes widened with pride. "Hey, look at you. I'm proud of you, little guy."

Max beamed. "I want to be a black belt like you and Jace and Isabelle. I want to be cool like you guys."

"You'll get there," Alec insured. He turned onto a dark street, one that seemed pretty much abandoned. It was kind of creepy at night actually. "Don't rush it though. You're only nine years old. Take your time growing up, okay?"

Max pouted. "But Alec, I want to be grown like you!"

"No you don't," he teased. "I pay my own phone bill, it's not fun."

"At least you have a phone," he shot back, pouting in his seat.

Alec stopped at the stop light and turned towards his little brother. "Look, Max, I know you want to grow up, but you're great the way you are. Everyone tells you to mature and whatnot, but I want you to be yourself. If that's a kid that likes martial arts and comic books, so be it."

Max looked up at him, a smile on his face. "Like how you are yourself with liking boys?"

Alec nodded. He still found it uncomfortable to talk to his brother about it, but he was getting used to it. "Exactly. You need to–"

He didn't finish his sentence. Something hit the back of his truck, sending the vehicle forward quickly, fast enough to give them whip lash. Alec slammed the breaks and reached out for Max, holding him against the seat. The airbags didn't deploy, luckily, and his brother seemed okay when they finally came to a stop.

With his heart racing, hands sweating, and blood pounding in his ears, he immediate turned towards Max. "Are you okay? Nothing is hurt, right?"

Max nodded, looking over himself like an inspection before he turned around. "What – what was that?"

Alec looked in the rearview mirror. A red car seemed to have dug it's way under his truck, completely submerging the first section of the car. The driver had kicked the door open and was stepping out. He looked pissed, and unrecognizable, but pissed nonetheless. Alec turned to Max.

"Stay here, okay?"

Max nodded and pulled his knees to his chest, calming his breathing. After checking and checking again to make sure Max was calm and not freaking out, Alec stepped out of the car.

"Bloody hell! Fucking shit!"

He immediately shut the door at the language from the driver. Max didn't need to hear that. In the dark, it was hard to tell who the guy even was. He was tall and thin, but he was yelling and flinging his arms everywhere so it was hard to tell anything really.

"Sir?" Alec asked hesitantly. "Are you alright?"

"After everything that's happened today, this is the last fucking thing I need," the guy said with an accent, running a hand through his hair.

Alec froze. He knew that voice. He knew that stupid gesture that he'd seen during videos. He knew that walk and now that his eyes were adjusting to the light, he knew everything there was to know really.

"Magnus Bane?" Alec asked incredulously.

Magnus turned and his eyes met Alec's, and they actually seemed excited and relieved. "Great, you're a fan." He stepped forward, reaching into his pocket and pulled out a wallet. "I need this to stay between you and me. Here's 4,200 dollars," he pulled out a wad of cash that made Alec's eyes go wide, "And you can have as many pictures as you want or whatever. I just need this to not get out to the public."

Alec was still in shock at what was happening. Magnus Bane, THE MAGNUS BANE, was standing in front of him looking worried and upset with himself while offering him a wad of cash and the only thing Alec was able to say was…

"You're not hurt, are you?"

Magnus blinked, twice. "Um, what?"

"You hit my truck," Alec said, pointing to the submerged vehicle. "I know your Corvette isn't exactly doing well, and I want to know that you're actually okay. Like, not bruised or concussed or anything? No broken bones or whip lash? You're not dizzy?"

"Um," Magnus hesitated, lowering his hand with the cash and staring at Alec curiously. "I'm fine. Wha - What's your name again?"

"Alec."

"Alec? That's interesting."

He nodded. "Well, it's really Alexander, but everyone calls me Alec."

"Magnus." He held his hand out, and Alec took it. He was talking correctly, and even being articulate with the man of his dreams and his idol. He'd never been so proud of himself. Magnus smiled at him. "And I'm sorry about your truck, Alexander."

Alec shrugged, moving towards the accident. His truck actually looked fine. The work his parents did keep everything intact and it didn't even look like anything was really dented. Maybe a few scratches but it would still run like a dream. Magnus' car though… "My truck isn't the problem. I don't think your expensive little car is drivable though."

Magnus stepped next to Alec, both leaning with their hands on their knees. "Are you good with cars?"

"I know enough to know when one isn't going to run correctly."

Magnus chuckled. "So, you knew my name." He stood straight and leaned against the bent hood of his damaged car. "You're a fan, right? I'm not just assuming this?"

He hesitated so he didn't sound too needy and said, "You could say that."

"Alec?"

They both turned when Max stepped out of the driver's side, still looking a little terrified and shaken up. His young eyes were looking around everywhere.

Alec reluctantly walked away from his idol and grabbed his brother's shoulder, squatting in front of him. "Hey, buddy, you okay?"

Max nodded but hugged himself around his middle. "I want to go home."

"I'm sorry," Magnus said, coming over to them. "I didn't mean to – I didn't know – I mean, it wasn't intentional to–"

"You're Magnus Bane," Max interjected, a small smile playing on his lips. "You're part of English Love."

Magnus nodded. "Are you a fan too?"

Max shrugged. "A little. But Alec is your biggest fan. He listens to your music all the time and you're his favorite member and singer and he gets mad when everyone teases him about it and–"

"And if you keep talking, I will black belt you in the face," Alec said sternly while still holding onto the playful big brother teasing. Max pouted but rolled his eyes – courtesy of Isabelle – and slipped back in the truck.

When Alec turned back to Magnus, he was glad that it was dark outside. Because Magnus's smirk was very visible, but Alec hoped that his blush wasn't. He seriously prayed that it wasn't.

"Can you do me a favor?" Magnus asked.

Alec nodded nervously. "Sure."

"I can't be seen with a car accident right now with the drama going on with Woolsey and Camille in the public eyes," Magnus explained. "But your truck is still drivable. I'll give you all the money I have right now if you'll let me ride and stay with you until morning when I can call my manager and work out something."

Alec swallowed. He was asking to stay with Alec, in his house, under his roof, and that made Alec all sorts of nervous and excited. He really just hoped that he'd be able to drive and not kill himself and his favorite band member before they got there.

So he finally nodded and couldn't even speak as he opened the back door to his truck. Magnus said his many thanks before he slipped inside, closing the door.

Alec turned the car on when he finally came back to reality and instantly regretted it as one of English Love's singles started to play through the speakers.

Max turned back to Magnus. "I told you."

Alec punched him.

* * *

After Alec got Max in bed, called Maryse and explained what happened with every little detail and enforcement that they were okay, she finally let it go and told him to call her in the morning.

He walked downstairs, stuffing his phone in his pocket. His heart was racing when he saw Magnus on his phone in the living room, his body language showing how exhausted he was. "Magnus?"

The Asian boy looked up and it was odd now, seeing him with the lights on. Alec had dreamed these moments for years, and yet this was completely different. He was talking normal to the usually sparkly boy, and he wasn't being too clingy or crazy. He was actually being a human being.

But that didn't stop the fact that his heart was racing, and his palms were sweating, and every once in a while he would trip over gravity or have to pinch himself to believe this was real.

He pointed towards Magnus's clothes – a tight pair of leather pants and a bright purple shirt with spiked boots. "Would you like some clothes to sleep in or?..."

Magnus smiled and nodded. "Are they your clothes?"

That made Alec stutter a little. "Um, yeah. Or you can wear Jace's clothes. He's my younger brother, but they might fit you better. He's a bit taller than me and buys the longer sizes but if you don't want to since you don't know him and it's probably weird, I understand but I just want you to be comfortable since you've obviously got a lot going on and–"

"Your clothes are more than fine, Alexander," Magnus said with a smirk, standing from the couch.

He swallowed. "Um, do you want me to bring them to you here or?..."

"I can come with you," he said, walking towards the stairs but he paused when Alec was too shocked and suddenly nervous to move. "Would you be more comfortable if I stayed here instead?"

"No!" He blurted it faster than he meant to and tried his best to recover. "I mean, it's fine by me. I was just… let's just go. Follow me," he said nervously, turning and practically running from his embarrassment.

Magnus followed with an amused smile on his face.

Alec went straight to his dresser, pulling out some grey sweatpants and a black t-shirt. He realized for a moment that Magnus probably wasn't used to wearing such plain, simple, loose clothing. He turned, finding said man leaning against the doorway casually, watching Alec's every move.

It made a blush form in his cheeks again and he held the clothes up. "I don't really have anything colorful."

Magnus stepped forward, gently taking the clothes. "I don't mind." He turned towards another door in the bedroom, pointing towards it. "Is that the bathroom?"

Alec swallowed. "Um, yeah. That's mine."

"Great." Magnus winked before he walked inside, leaving the door cracked.

Alec slumped on his bed, his head spinning. He started off so well, keeping his cool and his calm demeanor, and now everything that happened set his nerves on edge. Magnus was so much more than he ever thought. He wasn't stuck up like magazines always claimed – although Alec never believed them in the first place. And he was sweet, and gentle, and he wasn't loud like he was at his concerts. But maybe that was because they were both still kind of shocked from the wreck. Maybe not? He didn't know.

The door opened and Alec found himself having trouble in the down under region. Magnus was in his clothes, before him, his hair down flat after he ran some water through it and was currently rubbing a towel over it. He had yet to put the shirt on, and Alec's eyes were glued to his thin but fit chest.

"The shirt is a little small in length, and I don't sleep with one to begin with, so if you don't mind, I would rather just not wear one." Magnus came over, dropping the shirt back in Alec's lap.

He nodded slowly, trying to find his train of thought. "Um, yeah. That's fi – That's fine."

Magnus smiled. "Good." He took a seat next to Alec, leaning back on his hands. "So, what is it that you do, Alexander?"

He didn't even hear the question. He was staring right at Magnus's abs and traced his skin shamelessly – but not purposely – before he finally reached his face again. When Magnus's yellow eyes were full of amusement and teasing, Alec finally asked, "Um, what?"

Magnus sat forward, obviously enjoying this. "What is it that you do?"

"I'm in college," he said simply. "Um, I'm not sure what I want to do yet, since I'm only a sophomore."

Magnus nodded. "What about your family?"

"My brother and sister are a year younger than me, and they just began. But they've pretty much known what they want to do their entire lives. Even Max knows he wants to follow in Jace's footsteps in a way, even though he claims he wants to be like all of us."

"What about your parents?"

"My dad travels a lot with his engineer work, and my mom is actually at the office all night tonight. They have a big corporate presentation tomorrow morning, and she couldn't afford to come home tonight."

"So, it's just you, me, and Max?"

Alec nodded, staring at his hands. "Um, yeah."

"Why do you seem nervous?" Magnus asked, reaching forward and grabbing Alec's hands. He didn't realize that he was twiddling his thumbs like crazy until he was stopped.

Alec's mouth went slightly open at the touch. "Um, I mean, you're like… You're Magnus Bane. You're like one of the most famous people on the planet."

"And you're Alexander, and we're just two people who happened to meet in a car accident. Don't think so much about it."

Alec shook his head slowly. "You don't get it. You're famous and like, perfect."

Magnus chuckled, his fingers interlocking with Alec's. That wasn't something that should've been happening, and Alec stared down at their hands until Magnus's other hand took his chin, lifting his eyes back to meet. "Alexander, are you one of those people that put everyone else before you and you refuse to see anything good about yourself?"

Alec couldn't even breathe, much less answer the question.

"You let me come into your home, when you barely know me, and lent me clothes to keep this stupid accident out of the public eye. That's pretty genuine and compassionate of you."

"I just…" He tried his best to relax but Magnus's hand was now cupping his cheek and it was hard to do anything but think about it. "I was just trying to help."

"I'm not making you uncomfortable, right?" Magnus asked hesitantly.

Alec was at least able to shake his head. "No." He was able to pull his hand away though, his eyes going to Magnus's chest momentarily. "But I mean, shouldn't we like go to bed or something? It's kind of late and all that."

Magnus's eyes looked at the bed momentarily before teasingly looking at Alec's. "Technically, we are in bed."

Alec tensed.

"But," Magnus continued. "I should probably head downstairs." He stood, giving Alec a very sexy smile that made his heart pump so much faster than it already was. "Thank you for everything, Alexander. And I'll see you in the morning. And thank you again for your help. I really appreciate it."

And then he was gone, walking out of the door. When it shut behind him, Alec collapsed on the bed and immediately pinched his skin to see if this was actually real, hurting himself in the process.

* * *

Alec had been awake for thirty minutes before he finally got himself to stand up and get out of bed. He wondered if last night was actually real, but when he spotted the leather pants and shirt on the floor by the bathroom, he realized that it wasn't just a dream.

Magnus Bane was in his house.

Magnus Bane was wearing his clothes.

Magnus Bane was here.

It took him a while to actually get the courage to leave him room and check on him on the couch. He quietly slipped downstairs so he didn't wake Max and found his favorite band member still asleep on the couch.

He looked so serene. Magnus was on his back, the blankets down to his hips so his bare chest was exposed. He had one arm behind his head and the other across his abs. Alec was so used to seeing him with an alive look in his eyes and a mic in his hand that it was refreshing to know that he really was a human being that had to sleep and eat and breathe. Sometimes, he wondered if Magnus was actually real or something he had made up in his head.

Alec walked over and froze. He was going to bend down and just shake Magnus awake, but he wasn't sure if that was right. Did he normally wake up to a gourmet breakfast? Did he have people that would start showers for him and stuff? How normal was he?  
Turns out, he was contemplating it for so long that by the time he looked at Magnus again…

He was awake.

"You look like you're giving yourself a headache," Magnus pointed out, not moving an inch. He stayed in the same position and just looked at Alec calmly. "And you're staring at me."

Alec immediately blushed. "I was just… I didn't mean to – I mean, do you normally–"

"I don't mind," Magnus interrupted, sitting up on the couch. "You're cute when you get flustered."

That made him go even redder. "Um, do you want something to eat?"

"I'm starving actually," Magnus nodded. "I could actually go for some eggs and waffles." He looked down at his phone on the floor, sighing when he saw that he had a few missed calls. "And I need to call my manager back although I don't particularly want that conversation at the moment."

"You should probably go ahead," Alec insisted. "I can cook while you do whatever business you need to do."

Magnus gave him a grateful smile. "Thank you, love." But he put his phone down though when Alec stood. "But I'd rather spend my time with you instead of on the phone if you're okay with it."

Alec's step faltered and he had to catch himself on the edge of the couch, turning to look at Magnus. "Are you sure? I mean, don't you have business to deal with that is urgent or something? Those calls seemed pretty important."

Magnus shrugged. "Maybe, but I think I do business way too often. And I don't have someone like you cooking for me all the time, so I'd like to enjoy this."

"I figured that you'd have a cook."

Magnus nodded. "I do. But like I said: My cook isn't someone like you," he winked, following Alec into the kitchen.

Alec had trouble cooking with the way Magnus stood in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, all shirtless and sexy looking. But luckily, they were able to just talk. Alec talked about school, answering Magnus's questions as articulate as possible, while Magnus told him about his crazy life of fame and success. Magnus was as down to earth as Alec always figured, and they seemed to have a simple easy-going conversation for the longest time.

"These are delicious," Magnus inquired as he sat at the bar, eating the waffles and drenching them in catchup. "Do you cook a lot?"

Alec shrugged with one shoulder. "Jace is too busy most of the time and Isabelle… well, you can't really trust her with anything that you put in your mouth."

Magnus practically choked on his orange juice.

Alec panicked. "No, I didn't mean it like that. I meant that, like, she's just not a good cook. It's just a bad idea. You know?"

Still laughing and smiling, Magnus just took another drink.

God. Alec felt like he could just sink into the floor after his last, stupid comment. "To answer your question, yes. I do cook a lot I guess." _God, I am such an idiot._

"I like a guy who can cook," Magnus said, plopping another bite into his mouth. "It's hot. And I can't cook so it's completely necessary in my life."

Alec, at this point, found it hard to eat. If he tried again, he thought he might choke and die of embarrassment or some sexual comment. "Did you never want to learn?"

"Never had a teacher. My parents died when I was younger, and since I got into the band, I never had to really learn. We're never around a kitchen to begin with."

"That's kind of sad," Alec said softly. "I knew your parents died when you were young, but I didn't–"

Magnus's phone started to ring on the counter in the middle of his sentence. Alec recognized the name. It was Magnus's manager.

He pointed towards the phone. "You should probably answer that."

"I'll have to leave as soon as I do."

The idea made Alec extremely sad. "I mean, you can't stay here forever, right?" he said as light hearted as possible, completely failing in the process though.

Magnus nodded at that and answered, standing and walking away into the living room. Alec had enough time to put the dishes away and clean up by the time Magnus got back, his hands playing with his phone as he leaned on his hip against the bar.

"Everything alright?" Alec asked.

Magnus shrugged. "I've got a car coming to get me."

"Oh." Alec dropped the last plate into the drying rack and turned, wiping his hands off.

Magnus's footsteps were heard as he walked towards Alec. The younger boy wasn't sure what to do, and when he finally turned, the famous one was standing right in front of him. "Alexander, can I be honest with you?"

Alec's pulse started to go nuts. "Um, yeah."

"I want to see you again."

His eyes widened. "Re – really?"

"Absolutely." Magnus smiled down at Alec, his hand coming up to cup his cheek again. "Out of everyone I've met in my life, they either want me for my money, or for my fame, or just to say they know me. But you… you never even asked for a picture, and I know that you're a big fan and it surprised me. And you're genuine and kind and caring and down to earth. I need someone like that to keep me grounded."

"Grounded?" Alec asked.

Magnus nodded. "I don't have parents to be honest with me, and I'm not close to my management team. And I like you, Alexander. I know we just met but my instincts are pretty good with this kind of thing. I know the people I can trust and believe in based on the first few hours with them, and I know I can trust you."

He leaned back against the counter when Magnus took another step closer. His thinner bare chest was close to Alec's clothed one, and he was wondering how this was even happening. How was he this lucky? And was this a real thing?

His silence was taken the wrong way though. Magnus studied him for a while before he dropped his hand and stepped away. "But if you don't feel like that, I understand. I can just go. The money is in your room to fix up your truck and a thank you for letting me stay."

"Wait!"

Magnus turned as he started to walk away. "Yes?"

"I just – I didn't – I mean… why me?" Alec asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. "I'm not special like you are."

"I beg to differ," Magnus smiled, stepping closer again.

Alec shook his head. "You barely know me, Magnus."

The famous boy shrugged. "Give me your number, and let me get to know you."

Alec bit the inside of his lip. He knew he wanted to do this, but it was complicated. He was too simple. He wasn't sure he'd be able to handle being friends or more than friends or whatever with someone like Magnus Bane. He'd wanted it for a long time, and now that it was right in front of him…

He didn't really finish his thought. Magnus, out of the blue and probably out of an impulse, suddenly leaned down from his taller height and Alec looked up just as their lips connected.

Instantaneously, Alec's eyes closed and he relished in the feeling. There was barely any movement and it was short and sweet and to the point, but it was there. Magnus kissed him softly and just as quickly as it started, he pulled away.

Alec was breathing hard already though. "I – that was – I mean… wow."

Magnus smiled. "We don't have to rush anything," he insisted. "But I want my point to be made. I don't beat around the bush."

"Don't worry about it," Alec said a little breathlessly. "I'm totally okay with that."

"So, about that number." Magnus pulled his phone back out, finding the caller ID section and smiling at Alec cheekily.

"Right." Alec leaned over to answer when Magnus slipped his free hand down, grabbing Alec's hand. He hesitated for a moment before wrapping his finger around the other man's. "It's 770…"

* * *

 **AND THAT'S A WRAP! I really liked this one since it was something different that I don't normally do. Hopefully you guys will agree! AND SO SORRY THAT IT TOOK SO LONG. I GOT SO CAUGHT UP IN MY OTHER STORY I NEGLECTED THIS ON.**

 **Let me know what you think! And don't forget to give ideas if you got them! There are a lot I haven't done yet, but I'm trying my hardest to mix and match them to get as many done as possible. Thanks for everything! You guys are the greatest for reading these.**


	9. The Younger Brother

**Izzy and Clary and best friends who are in college and Jace is Izzy's little high school brother and Clary noticed how much Jace has grown up since they've been gone.**

* * *

Clary looked around her dorm room, saddened to see it packed up. What once was full of color and memories now was nothing but white walls and an empty bed.

Her roommate and best friend, Isabelle, smiled at her as she walked in. "Hey, you ready to go?"

"Yeah, but I just can't believe our sophomore year is over."

The darker haired girl walked up to the redhead and wrapped her arm around her shoulder, pulling in her into a side hug. "It's not a bad thing, though. And you finally get to come home with me. My mom has been asking about you since your family moved to California."

Clary nodded. The thing was, Isabelle and Clary had been best friends for years before college. But halfway through their senior year, Clary's father had a job transfer across the country. She tried everything to stay on the east coast, but she eventually was forced to leave New York.

Luckily, both girls had always dreamed of going to Athens for college, of being a UGA bulldog. They joined a sorority when they finally arrived and picked up right where they left off. And it'd been like that ever since.

But Clary had never been back up north since she moved. It'd been two and a half years. And now, for the first three weeks of summer, she was going to be spending it with Isabelle and her family.

"How different is it?" she asked.

"Max is still a turd," she chuckled. "Alec is all grown up and moved out now that he graduated, and Jace is graduating high school. It'll be interesting."

"There's no way that he's really graduating," Clary claimed with a gasp. "I mean, wasn't he just a freshmen and getting on our nerves in the hallway?"

Isabelle laughed along with her, nodding her head. "Yup, my little brother isn't so little anymore."

Clary tried to picture it, but she couldn't. "I can't see him being serious enough to graduate, you know? Like, he was always pranking people and being immature."

"And having a major crush on you," Isabelle teased, bumping the girl with her hip and ushering the two out. Clary gave her room one last look before they started to walk down to the car. "Remember how hard he used to try in high school?"

"I was flattered and all but, I mean, he's your younger brother."

Isabelle shrugged. "He didn't care. He's always thought he was older than he really is. I'm more excited for him to see you than for you to see him."

"Don't tease him," Clary said sternly, glaring at her best friend. "And you're just being ridiculous."

With a smirk, Isabelle pulled open the passenger side to the car. "Whatever, Morgenstern. I'm just saying, that boy hasn't forgotten you."

* * *

"This hasn't changed one bit," Clary stated when she stepped out of the cab, looking up at the mansion. The Lightwoods always had money, not that Clary was poor, but it still blew her mind that they owned something like this.

Isabelle paid the cab guy and they grabbed their bags, walking towards the house. "You remember it?"

With a stunned nod, Clary said, "I remember it being smaller."

"Maybe you just repressed how big it was. You did get lost a few times."

"Sometimes I wonder how you can live in such a small dorm room after having a house like this."

"A lot of alcohol," Isabelle teased. "Now, come on."

Inside was the exact same, as it turns out. A few pictures of ancient Angels, Isabelle's father's obsession, and decorations hung on the walls. A huge chandelier hung over the dining room table. Perfect granite counter tops and crystal dishes were on display in the kitchen. So much of this was familiar.

"You remember where your room will be?" Isabelle asked, dropping her stuff by the table. "My mom is in her office so I'm going to tell her we're home. If you remember, you can take your stuff upstairs."

Clary nodded. "I remember."

Upstairs was the same as always too. Even with Alec gone, his room was still the first one on the left. Max was next on the right, but apparently he wasn't home. Then there was Isabelle's. And Clary barely glanced in Jace's room on the way to her own when she stopped in her tracks.

There was no way that THAT was Jace. NO way.

He wasn't how she remembered at all. And pictures Isabelle showed her didn't do him justice.

Before Clary moved, he was scrawny and kind of needy. He wasn't emotional, but he wanted what he wanted and thought he deserved it. She wasn't sure if his personality changed, but his body definitely had.

First of all, there was so much muscle. So much toned, beautiful muscle over tanned skin. He had his back to her, sitting at his desk in just a pair of shorts, probably looking something up for school. And even then, she could see how prominent his body was.

She swallowed a lump in her throat. Was that really Jace?

He must have noticed or felt her staring because he glanced over his shoulder towards the door. At first he looked confused, and then he smiled and beamed at her as he jumped to his feet. "No way! Clary!"

Still shocked from his appearance – one that only looked even better now that he was standing and showing off – she let him lift her into his arms, dropping her bags to the floor. Her body instantly felt hot as she laughed when she finally responded and pulled her arms around his neck, letting him hold her until he set her back down.

His golden eyes were still the same, but there was something extra hidden behind them now. Where they used to be playful and immature, which they still were probably, he seemed to have age behind those irises now. And his face had been chiseled out. His hair was a bit shorter but still curly around the lengths. He was… God, he was gorgeous.

"Isabelle mentioned you were coming. I can't believe you're here," he smiled and pulled her into another hug, spinning her around again.

"Um, yeah," she chuckled. "I'm here."

"Here, let me help you," He stated, grabbing her bags before she could and walked down towards her room, which just so happened to be next to his.

He tossed the bags on the bed and sat down, smiling up at her. "So, how long has it been? Two years?"

 _Long enough for you to completely change and throw me for a loop_ , she thought. Out loud, she said, "A little more, yeah. Two and half or so."

"You're as beautiful as ever," he stated, catching her off guard. "That hasn't changed one bit."

She just blushed – much to her own self-hatred – and grabbed at her bags, dumping the contents on the floor to organize. "Um, thanks."

"You're welcome."

It was quiet for a moment before Jace spoke again. "How long are you staying?"

She managed to grab some clothes and walked towards the closet, throwing them on hangers. "A few weeks. I think until your graduation."

"Really?"

She nodded turned, giving him a small smile. "Obviously. I wouldn't miss that for the world."

His eyes lit up at that. Maybe Isabelle was right. Maybe that crush was still kind of there.

But the feeling in Clary's chest made her wonder how much of this was one sided.

* * *

A week had passed since Clary and Isabelle showed up, and a routine quickly began. They normally hung out at the pool in the morning, and then would meet Simon for lunch in town and hang out with him a bit. He was back after his second semester at NYU, and since he was kind of dating Isabelle, obviously they all spent a lot of time together.

But tonight was different. It was Friday, and Clary was on her own. Simon and Isabelle were on a romantic dinner date somewhere in the city. Maryse and Robert were gone. Max was at a friend's.

So here she was, painting outside on the back porch later that night, watching the sun set before her as she tried to capture the beauty.

What shocked her was the throat clearing behind her.

She almost faltered a little but caught herself before it was noticeable. "Shouldn't you have a Friday night party to go to?" she teased as Jace came forward and sat down on the seat next to where she stood, watching her work.

"Not really," he said honestly. "Kaelie is throwing a party, but her last party was busted and I don't feel like getting arrested tonight."

That was shocking information. "The Jace I knew wouldn't care about the consequences."

"People change," he answered back. "I still don't mind drinking and having fun, but I don't want to fuck up my future anytime soon. My future coach at FSU doesn't really care for people with arrests."

That was right. Jace had a football scholarship to FSU as a running back. She could only imagine how strict college coaches are, even though players probably get away with A LOT at that level.

She finished the last yellow stroke and pulled back, looking at the mix of colors. "Are you excited to go play?"

"Yes and no," he sighed. "I want to play in college and all, but it'll be weird to be so far from home."

"It's worth it." Clary sat her paints down and sat down in the chair next to Jace's. "The first time you leave home is always scary. I was terrified when we moved to Cali. And I was scared going to UGA. But I loved both decisions."

"You always had someone with you though," he pointed out. "You moved to Cali with your family and you moved to UGA with my sister."

"You're Jace Lightwood. You'll make plenty of friends right off the bat," I pointed out, giving him a light shove on his shoulder. That brought a smile out on his face. "Don't worry. College is perfect for a party boy like you."

"Maybe, but I really just want to do this right. I like drinking and all that, but I don't want to fuck this up. Maryse is worried that I'm going to be a wild child, and that's the last thing I want."

She studied him for a moment as he looked down at his hands. "Jace," she paused for a moment. "You've really, just, grown up, haven't you?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "I like to think I have. I'm not the kid that just wanted attention and would show off for no reason anymore. I'm more mature now." He turned and met her green eyes with his golden ones. "And I hope that you can see that."

She swallowed. "Um, yeah. I mean, everyone has noticed. Even Isabelle."

That seemed to kill some of the fire in his eyes, and Clary wanted to mentally slap herself. But she didn't want Jace to think anything other than a friendship between them. The past week showed that Jace still had feelings for Clary, but she also needed him to understand that it wasn't possible. It was too... weird.

He sighed, and then he nodded. "Right. Well, I'm glad it's noticeable."

An awkward air began to settle on the two and Clary blurted out the first thing that popped into her head. "Want to watch a movie?"

Jace looked up. "A movie?"

"Yeah," she smirked. "You know, those things where actors are filmed and they put music to it and you watch it on a box thing of pixels?"

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "The sarcasm hasn't changed either."

"It never will."

Finally, he nodded and stood, reaching down to help her up. She put her hand in his as he pulled her to her feet, and felt the heat of it instantly. Jace smiled, holding her hand for a second longer than normal.

"So," he began. "What movie?"

* * *

"Why did you pick this if you're not going to watch it?"

Clary shook her head at Jace's question, burying her face in her hands at the end of the couch, opposite of Jace, and scurrying under the blanket further. "I like scary movies, but I hate them."

"Because that makes sense," he muttered with amusement.

"Don't judge me."

"Oh, trust me, I am."

She moved her hands to retort, but just as she did, a freaky looking grudge child girl thing jumped out and she screamed, burying herself back in a pillow under her head.

Jace laughed and slid over, placing his hand on Clary's knee. "Clary, we can watch something else."

"I'm fine."

"You're about to wet yourself."

"How would you know?"

He pulled at the blanket, and she saw the smirk on his face when he was revealed. "I have a feeling."

She stubbornly shook my head. "I'm fine."

He stood, shaking his head right back. "I'm putting in something else. Maybe like the Little Mermaid to calm you down."

"No!"

As quickly as she could, she reached for him but he jumped out of her reach, laughing as he did. He waltzed over to the DVDs, and just as he was about to turn off the player, she jumped on him on instinct.

Jace and Clary fell to the ground, laughing and wrestling. She knew she was going to lose. He's a football player for God's sake, but she just wanted to watch the movie.

Her arms wrapped around his neck from behind, her ankles locking around his stomach. "Don't you dare change it."

He all too easily pushed himself up to a push up position, smiling and laughing. "Clary, you're being ridiculous."

"I want to watch The Grudge."

"And I want you to be able to sleep tonight."

"I'll be fine."

He didn't accept this answer and flipped them easily enough, pinning Clary to the floor. His hands were on her wrists, holding her down on the rug as he hovered over her, the movie giving a ghostly but beautiful light to his facial features.

He was gentle enough not to hurt her. "You do realize that we're only fifteen minutes into this movie, right? And you're barely keeping yourself together"

"Sorry, but I'm used to cuddling with someone to keep me calm."

"Am I not worthy of that?" he teased.

That threw her off. Honestly, if she was being completely and totally, 100% honest, she wanted him to play that part. But, "Jace, is that not weird to you?"

"You're just Clary," he claimed with conviction. "And I'm just Jace. I don't think it would be weird."

"But I'm Isabelle's best friend."

"And she's my sister, but I still don't see your point." He cocked his head to the side, looking like a little, lost puppy. "I mean, this isn't weird, is it?"

She wasn't sure what he was referring to. Them alone at night, no. not weird. This position, although glorious, might have been a little strange for the two of them.

Clary swallowed as she looked up at him. "Jace–"

"Come on." He pulled back and yanked her to her feet, causing her to stumble into him. He chuckled and smiled, leading her back to the couch. She settled in the middle this time, Jace to her left, and he reached one arm behind the couch in invitation. "Are you going to freak out or come here?"

"I–"

"Don't over think this," he almost begged, his eyes going soft. "We're friends, right? And friends help friends, right?"

She nodded and slowly leaned in, her hands going around his middle and her head resting on his shoulder. "Yeah, friends."

And the rest of the movie, she was never scared. Maybe that was because of Jace. But it was mainly because the whole time, she focused more on his breathing than the actual people on screen.

* * *

The next few days weren't weird how Clary thought they would be. Surprisingly, it was fun. Isabelle was with Simon a lot, and as it turns out, Jace needed help studying for his English final coming up. He was good at all the other classes, but he was struggling with that one.

And English just so happen to be Clary's major.

So on the next Wednesday, they sat in Jace's room – Clary on the bed and Jace at his desk with his laptop open.

"'Parting is such sweet sorrow that I shall say goodnight till it be morrow,'" Jace quoted, glaring at his computer. "What the hell does that even mean? Leaving someone is sad?"

"Basically," Clary chuckled, looking through her old Romeo and Juliet notes from class last year.

"But why does he have to write it so complicated? Can't he just say that he didn't want to leave?"

"He did."

"No, he didn't."

Clary chuckled and gave Jace a knowing look. "Don't be frustrated just because you can't get it. I mean, you're not exactly a romantic."

He turned, and when his eyes met hers there was a teasing glint in them. "How would you know?"

"You're Jace Lightwood. You don't have a romantic bone in your body." She gave him a wink as he glared at her. "Now, move onto the next quote you don't understand."

He sighed and nodded. "Okay, um, the whole window scene. What's the point with the dramatics?"

"'But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks?" Clary asked. "He's basically expressing how beautiful Juliet is. How her maid envies her looks, and how everyone is green with jealous at her expressive beauty."

Jace leaned back in his chair, looking tired. "But why doesn't he just _say_ that?"

Clary laughed again, leaning against the headboard with a stupid smile. "Jace, he does. He says what he means every time. You just have to move your way around the language of that time to discover the meaning of the words."

"It's stupid." He stood and moved towards the bed, jumping down on it. He lied flat, his hands wrapping around his pillow as he turned and looked at her through his lashes. "How are you so good at this stuff?"

"I read a lot."

"No, really. I mean, you're a natural at reading things and interpreting what the writers mean. How?"

She shrugged, still flipping through her notes and avoiding his gaze. "I don't know. Drawing and writing have always been my passions, I guess. It comes easy to me."

He sat up on his elbows, his eyes studying her face. "Clary, it's incredible."

"A lot of people can do it," she pointed out.

There was silence that fell over them when Jace's phone buzzed. Clary looked down and saw the name, and decided that some teasing was in order as he quickly grabbed it and flipped to his back to answer the text.

"Who's Aline?" she laughed out. "A girlfriend?"

"Ex."

She nodded. "Interesting. And you still talk to her?"

"It's not weird anymore," he answered, setting the phone on his stomach as he closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head.

Clary took the opportunity to look him over like she had for the past week and a half. It was so shocking to her that this was the same annoying kid that she left behind with a crush on her. He was so much older, so much stronger, so much more gorgeous.

Jace opened his eyes to see her staring at his stomach, but chose not to comment and closed them again, a smirk forming on his lips. "She's gay," he explained. "That's why it's not weird."

"Was she always like that or did you turn her off of men completely?" she shot back.

He laughed, shaking his head. "Always been. I was the last shot. If she couldn't be with me, she couldn't be with any guy."

"At least I know your cockiness and conceited aspects haven't changed."

Jace sat up and moved closer to Clary, and she instinctively moved away. He frowned. "What is it?"

"Jace–"

"Clary." He reached for her chin and pulled her face to look at him. "You know that I never got over that crush with you. I know that you know that, and yet you're backing away from me and keeping me at a distance."

"You're Isabelle's little brother," she pointed out again and again.

He sighed. "The point is that I like you. And I have a feeling you like me too."

Clary shook her head. "You don't know me, Jace."

"Just one kiss," He pointed out as she started to get out of the bed. Jace grabbed her hand and pulled her back. "One kiss, and then I'll stop bringing it up."

There was so much running around in her head. This was a bad idea, but something inside of her wanted this too. It wasn't a good idea though. Yet, she caught herself looking at him like it was.

He smiled and let go of her hand, pulling both of his hands to her face. He cradled her cheeks softly as he leaned forward, slow and careful. She didn't move and he stopped an inch from her. Clary knew that he was going to let her finish it, and to her surprise, she didn't hesitate to lean forward.

It was instantaneous. There wasn't a rush to it, to Clary's surprise, but Jace held her and kissed her carefully. He was soft and gentle as he moved her down the bed, their lips never leaving as he slid to hover over her.

Clary's hands moved towards Jace's hair, pulling him closer. She felt him smile against her mouth as he took that as encouragement and bit down on her bottom lip.

She gasped and their tongues slipped together as Jace took over. Being the older one, she found that it was odd that she let him have the lead, but she also liked it. Every relationship she'd had, she was the teacher in a way. They were never someone with a lot of experience, but just the way Jace was kissing her… she knew he had plenty of experience – kissing at least. She was kind of scared to ask about the rest and it was too early for that anyway.

He pulled away after what felt like an eternity, pushing himself on his elbows. His golden eyes were burning a hole into hers. "Clary, be honest."

She swallowed before she answered. "I don't know," she managed to say. The kiss was breathtaking, but she at least still had her voice.

Faster than she expect, his lips quickly found hers again for a brief moment before he pulled away, pressing their foreheads together. "Two years isn't a big difference, Clary."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close. "What about Isabelle?"

"Who cares?" he said with a small smile. "This is about us. It's about me taking a chance that I should've taken two years ago."

* * *

Clary sighed as she watched Jace walk with his class, the caps and gowns shining in the morning sunlight. Isabelle was yelling and screaming beside her. Alec and Magnus had proud smiles on their faces. Max was just yelling to yell. Maryse and Robert were giving their children looks but mainly focused on taking pictures of the moment.

Isabelle nudged Clary when the class sat down in the seat, going through the motions of a usual graduation ceremony. "So," she started to say, "How are you and my brother?" she said quietly enough so that no one heard.

With a shrug, Clary said, "I'm not telling you anything else. You know what you know so be happy."

"That you guys have been 'hanging out' and 'kissing'. Yeah. I know. But I want more."

"He's your brother," the red head scolded, giving her best friend a weird look. "I mean, when you had a crush on Jonathan, I didn't want to hear any of it. And here you are, wanting all the details. It's gross."

"Are you going to kiss him?" she asked nonchalantly, clapping when the Valedictorian finished his speech.

Clary thought about it. Over the past two weeks, their relationships had been a lot about just time with each other. But Isabelle was the only one that knew. And it wasn't because Clary told her. Izzy burst into Jace's room one night and caught Clary trying to fall off the bed and hide. It was the most embarrassing moment of Clary's life, but her best friend dealt with it pretty well after blackmailing the details out of the two.

Izzy gave her a look before turning back to the stage. "Well?"

"I don't know," Clary shrugged. She snuck a glance at Jace and Isabelle's family, getting a sick feeling in her stomach. "Would they, you know, approve?"

"Max adores you," Isabelle started. "Alec wants Jace to be happy. And my parents adore you and your family. Hell, our moms are best friends. Besides, I approve." She turned and gave Clary a wink. "And my opinion is the only one that matters."

Clary chuckled and shook her head. "You act like everyone just expects it to happen."

"Maybe," Isabelle teased.

Instead of harboring on what Isabelle meant, Clary's eyes searched the graduating students for Jace. She found his blonde hair creeping out from under his cap towards the middle of the group. She smiled when he turned around to some guy behind him, smiling and giving the kid a high five with a beaming expression.

Maybe it could work. The past two weeks have definitely beat out any relationship that she's had so far. Even with the college guys. Jace was just smart and witty and he understood her own humor and attitude. Not to mention, he was pretty gorgeous.

Clary sighed, thinking about it, and dropped her chin to her hand dramatically.

Isabelle, who noticed, rolled her eyes and smirked. "Drama Queen."

* * *

The group made their way down after the graduates had thrown their caps all over the football field. It was hard to find Jace for all of his matching doppelgangers all over the place, but Robert eventually spotted him and led the group towards the 2o yard line.

Jace was smiling and rubbing the top of some kid's head. If Clary remembered right, his name was Julian or something. Both boys couldn't stop the smile on their faces as they joked and shoved each other.

When Jace noticed the group coming towards him, he playfully shoved Julian and headed over towards them, immediately going into the arms of Maryse and Robert, then Alec, joking with Magnus, grabbing Max, ignoring Isabelle as a joke, and finally he grabbed Clary and pulled her right off her feet, spinning her around until her heels flew off her feet.

She chuckled when he set her down, barefoot on the grass. "Sorry," he laughed, bending down and grabbing the shoes but keeping them in his hands anyway. It was like he knew she hated those things but Isabelle forced them on.

"We're so proud of you," Maryse said, breaking the moment and grabbing Jace once again. Robert was snapping pictures for the next twenty minutes, taking pictures of the family and Jace with some people Clary recognized and others that she didn't.

After what seemed like forever, and Clary catching up with some people from her own class that had younger siblings graduating, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist, turning her around. "Hey, you."

"Hey," she smiled, instantly going back to Isabelle's conversation earlier. She glanced over Jace's shoulder, finding Isabelle looking at them with a thumbs up before going back to talk to a guy named Meliorn that they knew in high school.

Jace pulled her in for another hug, once again. She chuckled and reached up, fixing his cap and his tie. His eyes were burning into hers as she straightened him out.

"You have no idea how bad I want to kiss you," he blurted out, giving her a small, shy smile as her eyes widened.

His bluntness wasn't new, but it wasn't expected either. "Oh?"

He chuckled. "Yeah."

After thinking about it for the whole ceremony, Clary's thoughts became spoken words. "Why don't you?"

His eyes widened. "Really?"

"Really, really."

"That would mean, that, we would be, like, together." His left hand came up to her cheek, rubbing her skin softly with his thumb. "And you're okay with that?"

"Who wouldn't want to date a college superstar?" she teased. "You could be rich one day and I could divorce you for a massive settlement. Sounds like a good future."

He smiled and pressed their foreheads together. The contact made the rest of the world already become fuzzy, like it was starting to disappear completely. "So I'm just a money bag to you?" he teased back.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and didn't answer before she couldn't take it and pulled him towards her, their lips crashing together.

Instantly, Jace's friends on the football team started to catcall and whistle, talking about how 'Lightwood really does have game' and the typical high school stuff. Clary felt Jace smile into the kiss but he didn't seem to care about the teasing. They weren't even sure how long they were locking lips before they heard the click of a camera and pulled away.

Magnus stood there with his own phone up, smirking at them. "I figured I should capture the moment since el padres seems a little shocked."

They looked past Alec's boyfriend to find Robert and Maryse staring at them with shocked expressions. And then, right behind them, was Isabelle, who was dancing and jumping and looked ecstatic about what just happened.

Jace rolled his eyes. "We'll deal with them later," he told Clary before he brought his other hand up, hiding their faces as their lips pressed together once again.

* * *

 **It's been a while since I've put one of these up, but I figured it was time. I missed them, and hopefully you enjoyed this one! Stay tuned for more! :)**


	10. Princess Gone not so wild

**Could you write a clace story in which they're opposites and (even though this is so stereotypical) Jace is a "badboy" while Clary is a sorta sweet and girly/artsy girl :)**

 **Can you do one where it's an arranged marriage and they both hate each other to begin with?**

 **How about where they are both royal? Maybe jace as a prince?**

 **And to throw my own personal twist into it, I recently watched "The Prince and Me" for like the 50th time so that has a little bit of an effect as well. This is a huge mix I've never tried before but I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Clary sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror. Honestly, she just wanted to stay inside and paint for the rest of her life, especially after her news that she got today. This has got to be the worst day of her life, and did she deserve this? No. She was a good kid. A genuine kid who just wanted to paint and live a simple life. Not marry a prince. Or whoever this Jace Lightwood kid was.

There was a knock at her door, pulling her out of her torturous thoughts and she looked up to see her brother.

"Clare-bear?" the prince called at her, the next in line to the throne. "Hey, you okay?"

She shrugged from her window seat and looked back out to the sun shine. "Did you hear?"

Jonathan nodded, stepping in and closing the door behind him. "Yeah, I did. But Clary–"

"I know it's my civil duty. I get it." She said defeated.

"Clary, Jace isn't that bad."

She sighed and shook her head, pulling her legs to her chest. "Jonny, it's the fact that Dad is forcing me to get married. I don't want to get married. I don't believe in it. I'm not big on relationships and you know this."

"I know, but baby sis, you know you have to do it."

He stepped towards her in his suit, dropping to his knees beside her as Clary finally turned to meet the darker eyes of her older brother.

His sad smile was the only thing that got her through this. "You know that Dad doesn't want to just send you away, but this economic situation needs to be resolved. The only way to do it is to unite the countries, and I can't because–"

"Kaelie," she finished with the name of Jonathan's wife. "So I'm next. But I don't understand why it has to be Jace. Isn't Alec the oldest of the Lightwood family?" she asked with innocent curiosity.

Jonathan chuckled. "Yes, but it's not the same. Alec isn't exactly going for a traditional wedding."

She frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"I forget that you tend to just stay in here and ignore the world so much," he chuckled, straightening up and taking the spot on the window opposite of her. "You need to get out more, baby sis."

Her glare got him to back away a bit playfully. "He's gay," Jonathan blurted out. "And he doesn't want the thrown, no matter how much Maryse and Robert trust him with the country. But, I mean, it's like I said: Jace isn't that bad, Clary."

"I hope so but I doubt it," she said without much conviction. "I may stay in the castle and paint and avoid the outside world, but even I know of the scandals that he's gotten into."

Jonathan opened his mouth and shut it back. "Yeah, I can't really say much to that. But I promise you," he reached forward and grabbed one hand, "If he does anything to disrespect you, call me and I'll fly to England in a heartbeat and kick his ass personally."

"Because that's good for the country," she mused.

Jonathan shrugged. "I'm the soon-to-be king. What can they do?"

* * *

Clary sighed as she got off the of the jet plane. People lined the airport and circled everywhere around her, some as paparazzi as citizens, some as fans apparently. She swallowed hard at the sight of the new country that she would be in for quite some time, and if everything goes as her father plans, the rest of her life.

She waved at the people along the path, smiling at a few. A little boy broke through the crowd, running towards her with a smile on his face. She chuckled when the body guards before her stepped up, and grabbed the kid.

"Hold on," Clary said calmly, grabbing his arm. She recognized the kid but her security, who weren't the brightest bunch of guys, didn't. "Let him go, Marcus. He's not hurting anybody."

"Princess–"

"Maximus Lightwood! Get back here!"

Everyone, not including Max, froze at the sound of that voice. It echoed, like it was used to being in charge, and Clary had heard that voice in press conferences and meetings more than once. She knew it really well.

The royal family, led by the king and queen approached them. Queen Maryse Lightwood, someone who was well known and very outspoken was in front, obviously the main speaker. Two others followed behind them, one in a dress and one in a suit, their royalty showing off of them easily.

The youngest of the family, Max, ran past the body guards when they realized who he was and jumped at Clary, the younger 9 year old boy wrapping his arms around her legs. "Princess Clary! You made it."

She chuckled and shook his hair. "Hey, buddy. It's nice to meet you officially."

The formal introduction were pretty simple and easy. The family introduced themselves, did their usual bows and talks, waving to some of the citizens. Alec was quiet. Maryse was the speaker. Robert seemed relaxed. Isabelle was judgmental. And Max was cute. But one was missing. A pretty important one too.

Clary wasn't sure it was her place to ask where he was, so she kept quiet as Maryse told her the plans as they walked through the airport. Cameras were everywhere and Clary (through Daddy's orders) was used to being inside away from the public eye. This kind of visual was different and new to her.

They were told that they were separating for the trip back to the castle. Clary frowned when she was told that she and Isabelle were taking a limo and just followed the unknown girl towards a black limo in line with the others.

As soon as the door closed and the girls were alone, Isabelle spoke. "I'm sure you're wondering where my older brother is."

She nodded.

"Well," Isabelle started, "You're going to have your hands full with Jace. I can promise you that he likes to get into mischief and not exactly do what he's told. Half of this deal was to help the economic situation but the other half…" Isabelle leaned across the seats, closer to Clary like she was telling her a secret, "Between you and me, it's so that you can keep Jace in control."

Clary wasn't expecting that. "Um, I'm not exactly forceful."

With a laugh, Isabelle nodded. "Yeah, I get that, but I have a feeling you'll do fine. Jace just needs a little bit of a push, and your innocence is something that might be good for him."

"Innocence?"

"Yeah," Isabelle nodded. "In every aspect of the world. Tomorrow, he's taking you to see the country all day, and I hope that the way you view the world will help him see that he's not exactly in the right here."

"Way to give me some high expectations."

"You can do it," She insisted. "Valentine raised you like this for a reason. Use it."

* * *

Clary sat on the bed in her temporary room in the castle, playing with the sheets and looking around the next morning. She didn't get a good night's rest, but she was dressed in a casual sundress and ready to get this day with Jace started, regardless of the jetlag and exhaustion that threatened to take her over.

Finally, thirty minutes after they were supposed to leave that morning, the door opened.

Jace was exactly like his pictures, but seeing his beauty in person still gave Clary a bit of an 'oh my' kind of feeling and her heart fluttered a bit. He really was attractive, especially in a suit, tugging at the tie that annoyed him with a rather enraged expression.

But he wasn't alone, and Alec was right behind him as they argued and stepped into the room.

"I had plans today," Jace insisted, glaring at his brother. "Aline is pissed at me because I had to cancel for this stupid thing."

Alec sighed. "This stupid thing is called your future, Jace. And your future wife probably doesn't appreciate that either," he claimed, pointing to Clary who stood from the bed.

Jace turned and his eyes widened a bit as his gaze settled on her. He took her in, from her feet to her head back down and then once more. She was turning red from his gaze but he turned away without a readable expression and went right back to Alec's conversation.

"Why can't you take the throne?"

"The people wouldn't exactly appreciate that."

"It's the twenty-first century. You're gay. So what? It's becoming a normal occurrence now."

Alec shook his head. "Until it's a majority, which will never happen, no one in power of countries will be gay. That's the way the world works, Jace."

Most princes would fight each other for the throne, not want to play hot potato with it, Clary mused to herself. She was shocked that these two boys were so against being the future King of England, and it was completely confusing to her. Baffled her actually. It didn't make sense.

"Deal with it," Alec insisted, stepping towards the door. "And try not to be an asshole," was the last thing he said as the door closed behind him.

Jace ran a hand through his hair before he turned towards Clary, taking her in again. "So," he said simply, "you're Jonathan's sister?"

She nodded, but her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You know my brother?"

"We're friends. Well, we were good friends until he decided to actually do his royal duties and shit."

She wasn't sure what to say to that without being offensive so she kept her mouth shut.

Jace noticed. "You're a quiet one, huh?"

"Um, I guess?"

"This will be fun," Jace said with the opposite of excitement. "Come on. Let's get this day over with."

* * *

To Clary's surprise, Jace didn't take a limo or guards. Instead, he took her down to a garage that held what looked to be a bike. Her eyes grew wide when she saw it.

He left her to head to a closet and when he returned, he had a pair of black leather pants, a matching jacket, and a white tank top. The black boots didn't look to 'royal' either. He had a set ready for him as well. She frowned when he held them out of her.

"Here," he insisted, kind of shoving them towards her.

"Why?"

He sighed, pointing towards the bike. "This does not go with," he pointed towards her dress, "This. You need to change."

"Why can't we take a car?"

"Because I ride a bike," he said simply. "You've ridden a bike before, right?"

She swallowed, eyeing the scary-fast-dangerous looking vehicle. "My father didn't really let me, and Jonathan never wanted to so…"

Jace laughed. "You've never been on a bike? Have you even seen one in person before?"

She shook her head.

"It's gonna be a long day," He said with exasperation, finally dropping the clothes into her hands. "Look, there's a bathroom over there. Go change, and I'll be here when you get back. And then we're heading to London. Simple and easy."

To say that Jace looked good in leather was an understatement. He really filled out the clothes rather well, but Clary just felt uncomfortable. She pulled at the tight pants and jacket, missing her loose fitting dress that flowed.

He was leaning against the bike waiting for her when she stepped out. She felt like a rebel, and Jace's gaze didn't help that. It wasn't an appreciative glance, but a 'black looks good on you' stare and it made her fidget in place until she pointed towards the bike and muttered a "shall we go?" to stop the staring.

"Here," Jace said, holding her a helmet. She took it, but looked at it like it was a foreign object because, well, it was. Jace noticed and sighed, again. "Okay, hold still."

Somehow, he was gentle when he helped her slip it over her head. With her hair in a low braid that swept over her shoulder, it made sliding the helmet on that much easier. Once it was on, his fingers ghosted over her skin as he slid the straps in place, tightening it.

"Good?"

She thought about her answer. "I think so?"

"So confident," he teased.

"Is this safe?" she asked, sliding in behind him on the bike as he slid his own helmet on. "And why do these have face masks on them?"

"The people don't know that this is my bike, and we can easily go riding through London this way without getting noticed. Trust me. Now," He reached around and grabbed her hands, pulling them around his waist. "Hold onto me and lean with me when we drive, okay? I promise, you won't fall. Just lean with the bike. It makes it easier for me to drive."

"Okay," she said with a shaky voice, and she jumped when he kick started the bike, the small engine roaring to life. She involuntarily squeezed Jace a little, and he chuckled before they drove off.

To her surprise, he was right. It was a lot easier to see the city when she wasn't looking through a car window or attempting to hide from the civilians behind body guards. London was actually gorgeous, the countryside even more so, and the people were so different than back home. This place was so new and Clary had a feeling she would be drawing quite a bit of this new scenery in the near future.

They pulled up to a park of some sorts, Jace slowly driving through and pointing out important aspects of the area. He seemed to genuinely want to show her around, and it was nice compared to how he acted earlier that day.

That is, of course, until Sebastian Verlac showed up.

They were at a restaurant for lunch, being careful to stay hidden and not draw attention to themselves. Apparently, it was a place Jace frequented a lot because the waitress led them directly in and sneakily gave them a table with one way windows on both sides and no other company. But it was at that point that Sebastian made himself known.

Jace's cousin was tall, dark, and handsome. Clary actually found him attractive when he walked towards them with a smirk on his face. But as soon as he spoke, that attraction disappeared instantly.

"Hey, cousin," he said with confidence. "Who is the new dame? Another play thing for the prince?"

Clary tensed at his words. Did he not know who she was? Technically, a lot of people probably wouldn't recognize her but royalty was supposed to recognize royalty, right?

Jace sighed and shook his head. "Seb, this is Clarissa Morgenstern."

He froze at the name. "As in?"

"Yup," Jace chimed in, leaning back in the booth casually with a smirk. "You just insulted the daughter of the man who runs the fourth richest country in the world. How do you feel right about now?"

Clary pulled at the material at her pants, hating the conversation.

"How in the hell did you manage to land her? And what are you doing bringing her here? She doesn't exactly belong here."

Jace shrugged. "We're all friends here. Besides, we're getting married apparently, so might as well introduce her to everyone, ya know?"

"Sure," he said but still didn't sound like he truly believed what he heard. "Anyway, are you still on for the race this weekend? The winner takes the pot."

"Pot?" Clary blurted out, glaring at Jace. "You do drugs? Are you crazy?"

Jace gave her a look of disbelief. "Are you serious?"

" _Are you serious_?"

"It's pot as in money," he explained. "The winner takes the pot is an expression saying that the winner gets everything that – you know what? Never mind." He turned his attention back to Sebastian. "Yeah, I'm in."

"Alright. Meliorn and Raphael wanted in."

"Let them. The more that race, the more money I get."

As soon as Sebastian nodded and walked off, Clary snapped. "Jace, you can't be racing for money like that! It's illegal. If you get caught, you could get into serious trouble."

He looked at her like she had two heads. "Everyone there is under strict confidence. No one knows I race there other than other racers. We could all get burned if one name gets out, so it's not a big deal."

"Jace–"

"Look," he leaned forward, sounding serious. "I promise you, the racing has been going on for years. It's a way for the royalty and rich to let off some steam. No one gets hurt. Some people lose a bit of money. But in the end, the cops even know and they're okay with it. I'm a prince. I can get away with it."

With that, the subject was dropped. And Clary already didn't like where her life was heading.

* * *

It was dark, about two hours after sunset in an unfamiliar dirt arena looking area with a bunch of people that Clary didn't know.

Basically, all was good right? Wrong.

She was biting nervously on her nails, something she was raised not to do until things like this happened. Jace said he had to go somewhere to 'check in' and she wasn't even sure why she was here. Apparently, he wanted her to understand his life so she didn't wonder where he was, but she liked the illusion that he was a good guy. She didn't like this at all.

And she was so uncomfortable that she jumped and squealed when she felt a hand fall to her shoulder, shoving the intruder away.

"Whoa, easy princess."

"Isabelle?" she asked in relief with a breath. "What are you doing here?"

"My brother is racing, and as much as I hate it because of who he is, I come to make sure he doesn't accidently kill himself," she said simply and shortly, hopping up on the hood of the car that Jace and she drove here. "And despite my brother's idiotic attitude that he doesn't care if he gets killed trying this, it's kind of fun to watch and the guys that race are pretty hot."

"I wouldn't be so freaked out if they were in actual vehicles," Clary pointed out, watching as a motorcyclist hit one of the jumped and did a three-sixty before touching down on the dirt on the other side. "I mean, this is terrifying. Motorcycles aren't meant to do this."

"Of course not, but dirt bikes are," Isabelle teased.

"I'm serious."

"You're kind of a goodie-two-shoes, you know that?"

Clary rolled her eyes, pulling her knees to her chest on the hood. "I mean, I don't try to be. I just don't like the idea of getting into trouble."

"Trouble is where the fun is," Jace said as he walked up to them, a smirk on his face and a helmet in his hands. Sebastian was by his side, a smile sent specifically for Isabelle. "So, ladies, are you ready?"

"Are _you_ ready, brother?" Isabelle teased. "I heard the new kid, Simon Lewis, is a bit of a wild ride in more ways than one."

"There's five of us racing, but only one ever crosses the finish line," Jace said. that statistic didn't sit well with Clary. "And sorry baby sis, but it's not going to be your new crush."

* * *

"So, what did you think?" Jace asked as they walked up the stairs towards the living quarters of the castle.

Clary, who decided to dress in usual clothing – aka a dress – for the racing occasion, shifted nervously. "It freaked me out a bit."

"Because it was dangerous?"

"Because it was reckless," she corrected.

Jace sighed and opened the door to her room, stepping in before her and sitting on her bed. "Clary, look." He paused when she didn't close the door and stood in the doorway. "Um, you can come in?"

"I don't need to ask for permission in my own room."

"Then why don't you close the door?"

"Because you're in here," she stated obviously.

Jace chuckled. "Clary, we're getting married, whether we like it or not. Soon, we'll be living in the same room so you might as well get used to it." When she didn't really respond, he stood and walked towards the door, closing it and leading her to the bed. "Relax," he instructed. "I figured that we needed to talk."

"About?"

"You've seen a lot of my life the past few days," he started, falling back on the bed with his hands behind his head. "I mean, you met my friends at the biker bar. You saw the track. You've seen my routine when I want to not be a prince for a day. I mean, you've yet to be scared off."

She shrugged, keeping her hands in her lap. "I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this. Regardless though, I promised my dad that I would do this so I can't back out."

Jace was quiet for a while. "You'd really do anything for you country or your family if they asked you to?"

"Absolutely."

He sighed. "We are very, very different people."

"Agreed."

"Can I try something?"

She leaned back away from him in confusion. "Try something?"

He shrugged and leaned a bit towards her again. "We've spent time together and I mean, we're going to be getting married. So, yes, I'd like to try something."

"What are you suggesting?"

It was obvious that she'd never had experience in this, and Jace was well aware that he was probably qualified under 'too experienced'. "I just want to kiss you," he claimed.

Clary swallowed. "Jace, I don't–"

"Have you ever kissed anyone, Clary?"

With a cold expression and offense, she answered sharply. "Yes."

He cocked his head to the side playfully this time. "Then why are you so nervous about this?"

"Because I don't particularly like you."

He reached up and cupped her cheeks when she tried to pull away. His golden irises kept her in place. "Because you think I'm reckless."

She nodded in agreement, not really pulling away though.

"And you claim that I put fun before my duty as prince and future king."

Again, she nodded once.

Jace pressed his forehead to hers slowly. "And because you were forced into this against your will."

Clary swallowed at his closeness. Yes, she'd been kissed before but it was from other princes and it was just a peck on the cheek or a chaste one on the lips. She had a feeling Jace was waiting for a bit more than what she'd been aware of.

He leaned in, his lips hovering right over hers. "You're not exactly telling me to stop, Clary."

And he was right. She wasn't. But he didn't come any closer either. It was like he was waiting for her, and it confused her. She didn't think of him as that kind of guy.

"So what are you waiting for then?" she finally whispered, her voice hoarse to her own ears.

She felt him smile rather than saw him, her eyes going closed when he breathed on her cheeks. "I always wait for permission. Maybe doesn't mean yes. And not answering isn't any kind of consent either. So," he paused, pressing his lips to her cheek of all places before pulling back slightly to look into her eyes. "I'm waiting on you."

"You're going to give me a heart attack, you know that, right?" she said softly.

Jace chuckled and nodded. "Does that mean yes?"

To answer the question, she leaned forward and pressed her own lips to his. The feeling that surged was indescribable and before she knew it, her hands had come up to his neck, her arms wrapping around him and securing him close to her.

She wasn't sure how long they actually kissed for, but Jace was the first to pull back. He didn't pull far, just enough to break contact and look into her eyes.

And just as she thought he was going to say something sweet, something prince-like, some admirable, he just smirked and said a cocky, "Not bad, Princess."

* * *

 **I thought it was cute. But your opinion really matters. Don't forget to send in a few suggestions if you want to! I'm always open and try to write the ones where I think I can write them the best. Stay tuned for more lovelies :)**


	11. Partners In Every Way

**Do one where clary has a boyfriend but jace is madly in love with her...! Youre really a great writer. Xxx**

 **:you should do another clace one where they're partners for something. (i.e. partners in crime, poilce partners, outlaws, runaways, etc.) **

* * *

July

Clary sighed as she dropped her head to her desk in frustration. Being a police officer wasn't hard, wasn't easy, sometimes boring, sometimes terrifying. But right now, it was the easy part and the boring part as she and her partner filled out the paperwork for the last jerkoff that they put behind bars.

He was a simple guy, killed his wife because he was an alcoholic and a lunatic. Easy, simple, obvious really. They found plenty of evidence and thanks to Simon, the forensics basically pointed a straight, florescent line to the suspect.

But as she was finally starting to get somewhere with the files, Jace, her partner, groaned and threw his pen to the ground. "I hate this part."

She rolled her eyes. "Well, you knew that you'd have to do it."

"Doesn't matter. Can't you do this? I'll go get us some coffee."

He tried to move around her but Clary reached behind her, grabbed Jace's jacket, and tugged him back to his seat. "Don't even try it, Casanova."

"What?"

"I know that you're just going to flirt with the barista down at Starbucks. I'm not an idiot."

Jace ran a hand through his blonde hair, turning in his chair to look directly at Clary across the small space. "Yeah, but I get us free coffee."

"No."

"But–"

"Jace Lightwood," Clary said sternly. "Just because Maryse is the director, doesn't mean that you're just going to bullshit your way around the NYPD. When you shoot someone, you do paperwork for it. Deal with it. Understand?"

He glared at her, but he grabbed his pen off the floor anyway. "But I didn't get to shoot anybody."

She tightened the grip on her pen, trying her best not to snap. Jace always just wanted violence, trouble, shootings and stress. He thrived off of the danger of the job. He wanted the serial killer and massacres. Clary was content with simpler police duties. Cracking cases and not having bullets fly by her head. Especially with Simon worrying every second.

Speak of the devil, five minutes later he came up in the elevator, smiling at her and making a B-line for her desk. He leaned on it with his hands, ignoring the looks Jace was giving him. "Hey, you."

She beamed up at her boyfriend. "Hey, how was the homicide case with that fire?"

"Isabelle and I are working on it," he said. "But Alec is getting impatient. He and Magnus wanted it done yesterday, but they forget that these things take time, especially with all the shit our crime lab has throwing at us."

Jace scoffed. "Maybe if you could actually do your job, you wouldn't rely on my sister to make yourself look good."

Simon glared at Jace. "Says the guy that sent my girlfriend to the hospital."

"What?" Jace stood, and Clary could tell that, once again, his body language wanted to pumble Simon to the ground. "I–"

"Babe, are you ready for lunch?" Clary interrupted. "Come on, let's go. Now." Without a question, she grabbed Simon's hand and yanked the two away from each other. Mainly because Jace could physically beat Simon to a pulp, which would make him lose his job, and aside from their bickering she knew that she didn't want a different partner.

The couple burst out of the NYPD office door and into the warm air of the summer. And as soon as they were there, Clary turned to Simon and slapped him in the back of the head.

"Ow!" he yelled. "What was that for?"

"Will you and Jace ever get along?"

Simon's mouth dropped. "He pisses me off, Clary. Not to mention having the hots for you."

"We're partners," she clarified. "Even if I was single, Jace was single, he was maybe possibly a decent person, we'd still be partners, Simon. End of discussion. Honestly, you're driving me up the wall."

He sighed. "Okay, I'm sorry. He just gets under my skin."

"Well, don't worry about it." She leaned up, kissing Simon's cheek. "Okay. There's nothing to stress about."

He nodded. "Right. Nothing."

* * *

2 months later: September

Jace and Clary were stuck in the car, again, on the lookout for another suspect. Drinking coffee. In silence. Just waiting and watching while Alec and Magnus were out on the other street, looking for the same 'dark prince' looking character that murdered a twenty-four year old woman.

And Jace was fidgety. He kept tapping his fingers, bouncing his knee, biting his lip. She figured that he just drank too much coffee, but when he couldn't calm down at all, she figured that something was really up.

After a while, Clary couldn't take it. "Jace, what's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie. We're both detectives, in case you forgot."

He sighed, closing his eyes and dropping his head back. "Can't we just focus on the case?"

"I can. Can you?"

"Yes."

Clary turned, leaning on the armrest. "Talk to me, Jace. We're not best friends, but we don't keep secrets from each other. We have to trust each other."

He opened his eyes and nodded. "Look, I didn't want to tell you until the case was closed, okay?"

"Okay."

She watched as he turned in his seat as well, their 'spying' duties momentarily put on hold. "So, you know how Isabelle and I share an apartment?"

"Yeah."

"And sometimes, in our professions of law work, we have to work overtime. Which means we get home late and there are complications with relationships and things."

Clary gave him a stern look. "Jace, get to the point."

"Simon and Isabelle stayed together last night." He blurted out.

Confusion. That's all Clary could think. She went back to her conversation with Simon. He claimed that they had a lot of work to do, that they were behind on cases, that they DNA analysis to run, and that he couldn't hang out last night. But that was around nine.

"What time was he over there?"

Jace sighed. "They thought I was out with Kaelie, not knowing that I was in the apartment, and they burst through the door around eight."

"Meaning?"

Jace sighed. "They were kissing, Clary. Simon cheated on you."

* * *

Two weeks later:

The break up was simple. Clary was mad. Simon tried to lie about it, eventually told her the truth, tried to apologize and she may have asked Jace to shoot him. Considering they had the confrontation in the middle of the office the next day, there was a bit of tension on the fourth floor. After the case, Maryse had given Clary a week off to calm down, considering Jace had to stop her from shooting an unarmed suspect. That was interesting to say the least.

Simon had tried for a while, sending apologies and I'm sorrys. She didn't take any of them, though. She didn't want to hear it. He lied, end of discussion. They all managed to keep the trouble out of the office, but it was awkward with Jace and Isabelle being related.

And when her doorbell rang to her apartment, she groaned. She just got back from the gym, was tired, and she didn't want to deal with anyone.

"Look, I'm tired and–"

"Hi," Jace said with a small smile. He pushed past her, despite her protests. "I figured you'd want some company. And I don't care if you're tired." He dropped some bags on the counter. "Also, I brought food."

Clary sighed, closing the door. "Let me guess, Simon and Isabelle are at your apartment."

"Um, yeah." He chuckled nervously. "But hey, I brought ingredients for chicken parmesan, red wine, and World War Z."

"Really?" Clary chuckled, walking up to him and looking at the mess of stuff on the counter. "You outdid yourself, partner."

"Well, I can't have you going hungry. I need you to watch my back, after all." He clapped his hands together, turning towards the stove. "Now, let's do this."

At first, she wondered how strange it would be. Jace and herself hung out outside of work, of course, but it was never alone. They had Isabelle and Alec and Magnus or Maryse and Robert or Sebastian or anyone really. They always had someone else around. But yet, here they were in her apartment. She had nothing but a tank top and shorts on. Jace looked extremely comfortable as he moved around the kitchen, like it was natural for him.

Clary sat on the counter as he did his thing. She knew he could cook, was fully aware of it actually, but she never saw it in action. What else had she missed in the past two years of working with him?

He even looked pretty good, which was something she never noticed before. She knew he was attractive but didn't let herself really think it. The wine she was drinking was changing her mind though, and she smiled with her eyes over the rim of her glass as Jace talked.

And they talked about everything. They knew a lot, but they managed to stay away from subjects like family and work and relationships. He didn't ask about Simon. She didn't ask about Kaelie. They were just friends having fun, not partners. Friends.

Maybe they could do this more often.

* * *

One month later: Late October

"What are you doing for Halloween?" Jace asked from his desk.

Clary shrugged, propping her feet up as she studied her computer. "We'll probably be working, Jace. Weird shit always happens on Halloween."

"Doesn't mean we can't be lucky this year."

"We?"

"Yeah." He gave her a small smile. "You and me. Why not? Your apartment is getting boring. Besides, there aren't rules saying we can't hang out at haunted houses or a bar."

Clary rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't get your hopes up, Jace. Maryse might give us an assignment and we can't take a night off to get drunk and go scare the shit out of ourselves. Besides, aren't you a little old for that?"

"Come on, Clary." He stood, walking over and leaning against Clary's desk. "We have fun together, right?"

She gave him a look saying 'I know what you're doing' but went along with it. "Yeah, we do."

"And we're friends, right?"

"Yeah, we are."

"So, give me one reason why this is a bad idea."

She was about to answer when the elevator rang and it opened, revealing Simon and Isabelle. Awkwardness fell over the seen as Jace refused to move and stare down Clary's ex with distain. Isabelle said hey, which he nodded to, but Clary just watched as they walked off. She wasn't going to give Simon the satisfaction of knowing she was still kind of upset, but he looked uncomfortable and nervous and she was finding amusement in it.

By the time they made it to Maryse's office down the hall, Jace was smiling. "He can't even look at you."

"He knows he fucked up."

"Yeah, he did," Jace nodded, giving her a small smile. "So, you and me on Wednesday? Is it a date?"

"A date?" she shot back.

His eyes slightly widened when he realized what he said, but Jace recovered with no surprise and smirked. "Yeah, a date."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," he smiled. "Simon missed out. I'm not about to do the same."

* * *

Clary was on the couch in her Black Widow outfit, waiting for Jace to arrive. They were going to Halloween party at a local bar, and she was actually kind of excited. She was never one for flashy parties, but she figured that it was going to be good to let loose.

Finally, Jace knocked on her door and let himself in. Since he had a key and they'd gotten accustomed together, she was used to him making the place like home. With Simon and Isabelle together, he basically spent more time here with Clary than at his own apartment, especially when he used to crash on the couch sometimes.

She smiled at him in his Arrow outfit, doing a 360 in it. Leather looked good on him, and the green fit pretty well too. His short curls didn't really fit the character, but his build and attitude did.

"Are you ready to get drunk, dance with people we don't know, and maybe end up in the right bed tonight?"

She laughed at his cheeriness. "The first two, yes. Probably not the third."

"Come on, Clary." He moved behind the couch where she sat, leaning down until his face hovered upside down in front of hers. "Let loose, tonight. Don't think about work or jobs or responsibilities. Just go for what you want for once, alright?"

She sighed and nodded, shoving his shoulders away. "Jerk, fine. Just don't make fun of me when I call you in the morning because I lost my car keys."

Jace rolled his eyes. "It's been too long since you've been out if you think we're driving. Cabs only."

"Really?"

"Trust me. All you need is your phone and wallet."

Clary sighed but grabbed the essentials that Jace instructed. "Okay. Let's do it."

Jace paid for the taxi, no matter how much Clary fought him. She didn't want to feel like a charity, or worse, a date. Good lord, this couldn't be a date. Yes, he was attractive. Yes, he was quite the sweet talker. But it had always just been a game between them, especially when she was dating Simon. She knew better.

But she wasn't dating Simon anymore. And she was getting to know Jace even better now.

 _Let loose, tonight. Don't think about work or jobs or responsibilities. Just go for what you want for once, alright?_

His words echoed in her head a few times on the way to the bar. She would catch herself looking at him. She would just think about it, smile at him. And she finally realized in the cab as he talked with his hands about the World Cup…

She liked Jace.

But it was different than the past few years. Before she could really contemplate though, they had arrived.

He grabbed her hand out of the cab and walked to the bouncer. Apparently, Jace and this guy, the name was Meliorn, knew each other and the guy let them in without question or an entrance fee.

The bar itself wasn't anything crazy, but it was nice. A stage had a live band playing and a dance floor people were taking over. Booths and tables were set up by the bar on the west side, away from the music and dancing, and Jace led Clary over there by the hand, taking a seat at a small table for two.

"What would you like?" he asked as he let her sit.

She hesitated. "I can get my own drink, Jace."

"Nonsense. What'll it be?"

"Screwdriver, martini, vodka soda, long Island, I don't care," she relented with a smile. "Surprise me."

He nodded and walked off but was back before she really got a good look at the place. But while he was gone, she did notice one specific little thing.

"Kaelie is here?" she asked, pointing towards the dancefloor while she grinded on someone that Clary didn't know.

Jace sighed as he spotted her. "I guess so. I haven't seen her since we stopped seeing each other."

"Why did you stop?"

He shrugged, looking directly at Clary. "I'm interested in someone else."

Clary took in what he said but didn't comment, taking a sip of her… Jack and coke instead. And it was good. She'd never had one, but she had to admit that Jace did well on picking that.

They talked for a while about this and that, random stuff. The atmosphere was relaxing, despite the music and crowded area. Clary felt genuinely, just, calm and happy as Jace kept her laughing and thinking. She knew he was smart, but he was smart in all aspects outside of criminal justice. Music, movies, sports, science, anything. He just kept surprising her.

"So what's your deal?" Jace asked her at one point. They were a few drinks in and started to really get to the interesting conversations.

"Deal?"

"Yeah, you and Simon break up, but you haven't really done much ever since. You haven't been on a date. Haven't looked at anyone." Jace leaned back casually, eyeing her carefully. "Have you moved on?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "Yes," she said surely. "I have. That doesn't mean that I have to sleep with other people to prove that I've moved on from Simon. He and Isabelle are happy. I get that. But I'm happy not having a boyfriend right now."

He nodded. "Right. Well, even if you don't want or have a boyfriend," He stood, holding his hand out, "Do you still want to dance, Black Widow?"

"Funny," she smiled, grabbing his hand. "But I would love to, Green Arrow."

He smirked and they made their way in the mix of costumes and people, bumping into what looked like Robin hood, Cinderella, someone dressed as a condom, and basically every Marvel character that was created. But they eventually found a spot in the mix of people and Jace pulled Clary close in his drunken haze, dropping his hands to her hips as his front pressed to her back.

Even to her surprise, she let him and melted against Jace with the songs of Jay-Z and others playing around her. The drinks allowed her relax, to avoid overthinking, and they started to get handsy quickly. Her fingers dug into Jace's curls, under his hood. His moved across her stomach and under her skin tight clothing, gripping the bare skin of her hips. They moved their bodies together as they both got lost in the smells of sweat, perfume, the alcohol, the music, the feeling of a body against their own.

Her hands were wrapped in Jace's hair as his chin rested on her shoulder. She could feel his breathing on her neck, the feeling of the heated air brushing over her skin, and chill bumps arose across her skin. And that's when she moaned unconsciously, her eyes closed.

Jace tightened his grip on her hips at the sound. He moved one hand, brushing her curls to one side as his mouth descended on her neck and he kissed her lightly, almost like it was a question.

She answered by moving even closer to him, grinding herself against him. The more he kissed her, the closer she got, and eventually Jace reached his hand up and took her chin in his fingers. Before either comprehended what was happening, their lips connected in a passionate and heated connection.

Clary twisted in Jace's hold, moving her arms around his neck as they both pulled each other closer. He pushed his tongue passed her lips and she relented simply because she liked the feeling, pulling him down to her even more.

They weren't sure how long they made out/danced in the club. It felt like hours, but it could've simply been twenty minutes. Clary didn't care. Neither did Jace. Although Clary had thought about this moment many times in their growing friendship outside the office, she never thought either would actually allow it to happen.

Well, that's what alcohol does to you.

Jace's hands moved down her lower back to her butt, squeezing lightly as he pulled her closer. Simon was never that forward, never kissed like this, and she realized that she loved it. Simon had a questioned, careful side. Jace was charming and dominant. Not to the point that it scared her.

Just to the point that it turned her on. And that realization made her want to leave.

"Jace?" she asked against his mouth, but he moved to her neck instantly, sucking the skin into his mouth. "Jace," she repeated.

"Hmm?"

"Let's go to my apartment," she moaned, barely able to get the words out.

Jace pulled back, a small smile on his face. His eyes were dark with lust, the gold almost completely gone. She was sure she looked the same. His sweat had caused his curls to stick to his forehead and the back of his neck. He was flushed. And he was gorgeous and Clary definitely wanted him.

He nodded, pulling her closer for one kiss before grabbing her hand. "Don't have to tell me twice."

* * *

The next morning:

Clary was naked, sticky, and hot. That's what she noticed first as she woke to the sunlight shining through her bedroom window. Second thing? She was thirsty. Third thing? She registered the body next to her.

Well, more like under her. Her left leg and arm were protectively draped over his, the sheets pulled down to their waists. He hand one hand wrapped around her forearm, and the other arm that she was lying against was secured around her back, holding her close to him. She slowly looked up from his chest and smiled when she noticed a hickey against his throat where his head was turned away from her.

Maryse would be okay with his. She let Alec and Magnus be partners and be together. Simon and Isabelle were happy, so they shouldn't care about them. Clary finally let herself accept the possibility of being with Jace as she watched him, and she liked the idea. She liked it a lot.

Her lips pressed against his collarbone, up to his neck and she kissed the soft, sensitive spot where his hickey was. She felt him stir and his head turned, those golden irises revealed after a few blinks to drive the sleep away.

"Morning," he said in a soft, groggy voice.

She smiled at him, resting her cheek against his shoulder. "Morning."

They were quiet for a few minutes, their hands slowly dancing over exposed skin. Clary's chest and body were pressed firmly to Jace's, but neither really wanted to do anything to change that. more or less, they liked the close contact and the soft touches as they explored soft skin again.

But finally, she felt a kiss to her hairline, Jace's lips moving over her forehead. His hand moved to tilt her chin up adn he caught her lips with his. When they released, he smiled down at her with a cheeky grin.

"What?" she chuckled.

He shook his head with a laugh. "You have morning breath."

"Ew! Jace," she teased, slapping his stomach as he started to laugh and tickle her. "Jace, stop! Jace Wayland!"

"It's officer," he shot back, sliding over her and pinning her arms above her head. She was helpless and caught under him as he forced his way between her hips, his eyes taking her in.

But she rolled her eyes at him. "We've been together for less than twenty-four hours and you think you're the dominant one?" she flipped them before he could respond, sitting across him as she pinned his arms down this time. Although he probably was stronger, he let her do it and took in this side of her. "And it's detective Fray, Officer Wayland. Watch it, or I'll arrest you."

His beaming smile only caused her to laugh at their own stupidity. "You're hot when you're all dominant."

"And you're a hot mess when you're turned on."

"It's happened a lot lately," he shrugged, turning his hands so he could hold hers with their fingers interlocked, still pressed above his head against the pillows. "You just do something to me, Clary. I can't help it."

She responded by kissing him, letting the feeling of being together finally take over. They had been doing this dance for a while, for months, and the idea of being together was almost overwhelming. But after last night, she knew that this was what she wanted. She loved Jace as a friend and a partner. And she had a feeling that it wouldn't take to long to love him as a lover either.

He slowed the kissing after a few moments, slipping his hands from hers and cupping her cheeks lightly before slowly pushing her away enough to look at her. "You know, I kind of want some breakfast. You made me use up a bit of energy last night."

She rolled her eyes. "Don't blame that on me. You were completely willing."

He chuckled and nodded. "Absolutely," he smiled, kissing her again. "And after I make some eggs and toast, I'll show you just how willing you were too."

She rolled off of him, watching as he stood and stretched. Her eyes raked over his body as her mouth spoke. "Does this mean I get the special treatment?"

He winked, slipping a pair of sweatpants on that he kept in Clary's drawer for whenever he stayed over before (platonically, of course). "Do you want the Wayland treatment?"

"Do I get a repeat of last night and breakfast?"

Jace moved towards the bed, kissing her softly one more time. "Possibly. And maybe a massage too."

She smiled into the kiss, watching him walk away. He was down the hall when she finally fell back against the bed, taking everything in. She realized that this was different. Jace didn't have to ask for clothes, because he had some here already. He didn't ask where her pots and pans were because he'd cooked there a thousand times. He didn't ask how she liked her coffee because he'd made it for her a dozen times. And he didn't have to as what she wanted for breakfast because she loved eggs and toast.

He was fully aware of who she was as a person, and she knew what Jace was like as well. Now, they were fully aware of each other in all aspect of the world.

She smiled to herself at the feeling. This was something she could get used to.

* * *

 **It's been a while, but I just wanted to write one of these again. What do you think? Yes or no? I had fun with it at least!**


	12. Guess Who's Back Daddy's Back

**Can you do a story where jace leaves clary unexpectedly and years later when he comes back he finds out he has a child with her?**

 **They were high school sweethearts and had to break up because they were going to different colleges.**

 **I changed both of these a little bit, but I liked the ideas and came up with my own thing that I hope you guys will like.**

* * *

This was not the normal place for him to be. First of all, it was a school. He was almost thirty. Why was he even supposed to be at a school? Much less a middle school. He avoided these places. Not that he was bad with kids, but his life was so demanding and back and forth that kids didn't understand why he would be there for minute and gone the next. Alec's kids always asked questions. Isabelle's were always upset about it. Their uncle Jace just wasn't reliable. Never had been.

But now, he didn't get a choice.

Because when he was eighteen, he made a very bad choice. A very bad, very drunken choice. With is equally as drunk girlfriend on the night of their graduation from high school.

That should've been the worst part, but it wasn't. Jace had a scholarship across the country for football. Clary had a pregnancy. It was that simple. Michael, Jace's adopted father, accepted it and luckily they were rich enough to cover the child support, easily. But that wasn't what bothered Jace.

It was the knowing. He knew he had a kid. He knew that someone was out there that looked like him, talked like him, acted like him. And he knew that Clary, someone he never quite could get out of his head, was still disappointed in him. And after all these years, he couldn't take it anymore.

So he watched, from his car, as the school let out. And he studied every student, trying to find that one kid. The one that he knew was his. While he wished that he could just see the kid and leave, it was a lock of flaming red hair inside of an open car window that caught his attention.

Clary. Her hair blew in the late spring, early summer wind. She looked healthy. She looked happy. She looked almost exactly as she did when Jace left with a slap to the face. He gripped his steering wheel tighter from the parking lot as two kids raced towards her car, one with darker hair and one with strawberry blond curls, a strong jaw, piercing eyes, a bright smile, and an athletic build. And Jace knew.

 _That's him. That's my kid._

He watched as the two boys got settled. They looked the same age, so they couldn't both be Clary's. Jace guessed that the extra was just a friend of his son's. And it hurt that he didn't know. He didn't know his son's friends, his interests, anything. He wanted to though. And that's why he was going to change.

He just got the transfer to live in Philadelphia. He got the transfer to be with them, with his family. But how was he supposed to tell Clary?

How do you let the love of your life that you broke more than a decade ago know that you wanted to come home? How did you know that it was even welcome to you anymore?

* * *

Jace took a deep breath. Even now, Clary had never moved. Her mother and Luke moved, from what Isabelle said, and Clary just kept the house and moved into the master bedroom. That made things easier with finding her.

Not with getting the nerve to talk to her.

This had to happen, though. He had to stop being a child. So he marched up to the front door, and just as he went to knock on it, the door swung open.

And there he was. There was Jace's recently turned thirteen year old son, staring at him in the face.

The boy looked confused, one eyebrow raised as he took Jace in. Their expressions were similar in the mix of strange similarities and holy shits. His son looked him up and down before meeting his gaze, a challenge in his eyes. "Are you here to see my mom?"

Did he not know? Jace wasn't sure if Clary ever told him what his father did, who his father was. The resemblances were there, but it could've just been a coincidence to the kid. Jace wasn't sure what to say, but he figured he had to answer.

"Um, yeah. Is she home?"

"Sure. Hold on." Even his voice kind of sounded like Jace. "Mom! I'm going to Julian's house with Emma!"

Jace held his breath as Clary responded from a distance, a muffled distance. "Okay, sweetheart. Be home by dinner."

He rolled his eyes. "I will." He paused before looking back at Jace as he opened the door for Jace. "She's in her office," he said in a softer voice, only intended for Jace.

The older man's heart stopped for a second. "What?"

"My mom," his son clarified. "She's in her office. Up the stairs, first door on the left." He stepped away from the door, gesturing for Jace to enter. "From what I've heard, I'm sure you know where that is."

"What?"

"I'm not stupid. I know who you are."

"But–"

He waved Jace off, his attitude very apparent. "I wouldn't let some stranger into the house with my mom alone. You haven't been the secret you think you are." He stepped down the stairs casually, grabbing a skateboard but gave Jace one last look. "And she has a picture of you on our fireplace. Although it doesn't take a picture or anything to know you're my father."

And with that, he was gone. Just left. Like meeting his dad for the first time was something of the norm. Like it didn't really matter. Like Jace was just another human being on the planet occupied with so many people that everyone was just as irrelevant.

The kid sure knew how to make Jace feel like shit.

* * *

He was standing outside of her office, not sure how to approach this. It's one thing to knock on the door and have her open it, but he felt like he was trespassing, that this was a part of Clary's life he shouldn't be able to see. Did he even have a right to see her again, especially like this?

Minutes passed as he heard her behind the closed door, moving about with her paints and oils, no doubt. She was always an amazing artist, but she couldn't spend too much time on one piece at one time. She went crazy. So she'd use acrylics for fifteen minutes, finger paint for twenty, draw for thirty, go back to the acrylics. It was a mess. But it worked for her.

And he wanted to see that again. Even in high school, he liked watching Clary do her thing. Paint always got everywhere, but she was a hot mess at the end of the day and it was something that never got old to look at. Especially with that beaming smile on her face.

He heard her phone go off in the room after about five minutes of just standing there. Figuring it was best not to go in now, he waited as she went to answer it, pressing his head to the door to listen.

"Did you make it to Julian's?" … "Yeah, okay. Good. They can come over for dinner if they want to." … "Why not?" … "Really?" … "Okay, then. Yeah. Some other time. I'll see you soon, sweetheart. Love you too."

Jace heard her walking and when he realized she was walking to the door, he panicked. But just as he went to leave, it swung up to reveal Clary.

Not mad. Not annoyed. Not even shocked. Just a blank expression on Clary's face as she leaned against the wall casually with her shoulder, looking up at Jace for the first time in thirteen years. "Elijah said you were here. I figured I had to see for myself if you had the balls to actually come see me."

Jace swallowed, his back against the far wall and no idea what to say. She looked amazing, seemed to be doing amazing, and he wanted that amazing back in his life. Where he probably looked like an idiot drinking her in with an open jaw, she kept her cool with her arms crossed and, for the first time in years, Jace felt intimidated.

She cocked her head to the side and sighed. "We've talked about this with Alec and Isabelle. We knew that you were coming. Don't be so shocked and panicked." She pushed off the wall, walking towards the stairs. "Come on. I'll make you some coffee."

Jace was uncomfortable. He normally wouldn't be, but he was. He could handle media, and girls, and critics, and coaches, and attention, but calm and collected Clary was making him sweat. He expected her to be shocked, to be nervous, to not know what to say. This time, the roles were reversed.

He sat down at the bar of the counter in one of the stools, watching as she moved about. His coffee preferences never changed, and she must have known that because when she placed the steaming cup in front of him and he tried it, it was perfect. Like everything Clary did, it was perfect.

"So," she said, leaning on her elbows. "You show up after more than a decade has passed. Why?"

He put the cup down, looking down at his hands. "I couldn't take it. Knowing he was here, and knowing I wasn't, that I never spoke to him, it kept eating at me. For years, it's been eating at me. Alec and Isabelle always talked about him, about how great he is, and pictures never did him justice."

Clary nodded. "He's amazing, for sure."

"Does he," Jace sighed, taking a deep breath, "Does he know who I am, what I do?"

"He follows football like a hawk," Clary joked lightly. "And when he was younger, he always wanted to play for the 49ers. It was you that caught his eyes when he was eight, and when I explained who you were, he just got more excited. After a few years, he was hurt that he never met you, but he understands. You weren't ready to be a father, but everyone here was ready to help him. He knows he has a support system, with or without you in his life."

Jace swallowed at that. He certainly wasn't going to be welcomed back with open arms, and he knew that, but the harsh tone in Clary's voice made him shrink. "I'm sorry." That's all he could think of saying.

It was quiet. Jace just stared at his coffee as he felt Clary's eyes blazing at him. He didn't dare look up. Too scared to do so.

But eventually, Clary sighed and put her face in her hands. "Jace, what are you really doing here?"

The question through him off. Of course, he was here to see Eli, to meet him, hopefully to get to know his son, practically his clone. But Clary's tone meant something else.

Wasn't it obvious?

She continued before he could. "You disappeared for way too long. Not a word. I had to watch you on the TV all these years. You paid my family to keep quiet about our son." _Our son_. "He didn't get it, but he went with it. Imagine how that hurt him, how bad it was when I had to tell him that he couldn't say anything about you being his father, that no one could know but family. Imagine what that made him feel."

"I get it," Jace said, finally looking up to meet her anger. "I do. And I put you through that and it was wrong, but–"

"There's no buts, Jace!" Clary yelled. "He's just like you in so many ways. His habits. His looks. His interests. His personality." She emphasized that last one. "He's strong, Jace. Strong enough to know the truth at that young age. But as strong as he loves," she looked Jace right in the eye, "He hates with just as much power. And he hides it, just like you did. But like I knew you, I know him. He won't say it, but he shows it. He doesn't care for you, Jace. You left him, and he knows that. And he knows that means that you didn't care."

Jace shook his head. "I did care."

"More about your career and college than your son."

"I didn't have a choice," he shot back. "My father still dictated my life at the time. I didn't know what I was doing. I see it now, and I want to fix it."

"This isn't something that you just wish would get better, Jace."

"I'm working on it."

"Transferring teams isn't going to fix it," she shot back even stronger. "I know about the transfer and so does Elijah. Neither is seasons tickets, or meeting the team, or any amount of money that you have. He's a hard kid to get through to. It'll take time, which you won't have in a professional career."

Jace stared at her hard. "So what should I do, Clary? Give up? Just live my life without you in it?"

"It's what you've done for years!"

"Maybe I'm tired of it!" Jace yelled, jumping to his feet and knocking the stool back behind him. "I can't do it anymore. The dating, the girlfriends, the lonely holidays. Everyone I care about is here; friends, family, you, my son. And my family spends it with yours, and I feel like I can't intrude. You're all here. I can't be alone anymore. It's driving me crazy. No super bowls or games or teammates can replace you guys." His anger dissipated as he felt himself shaking, more out of sadness and fear. "I know I fucked up, but please," (there's a word he doesn't say everyday), "Please don't push me away."

She was quiet, but she eventually looked up and he saw the tears in her eyes threatening to spill over her cheeks. "Come by tomorrow for dinner. I'll make sure Elijah is here and we can talk."

* * *

Clary and Elijah sat on the couch watching Avengers as the chicken cooked in the oven. Everything else was prepared: the table, the drinks, the potatoes, the green beans, and the bread was ready to be warmed. They were just waiting on Jace, who was already five minutes late.

After a few more minutes, Elijah sighed beside his mother, tugging at his t-shirt.

Clary rolled her eyes. "I thought that you weren't nervous about this."

"I'm not." Elijah took the silence as a 'sure'. "I mean, it's just weird. But I didn't have to talk to him yesterday for more than five minutes. Even when you warned me ahead of time, it was still weird to see him in person. I've watched him play for so long that I didn't think he was real. And I liked it that way. Knowing he's coming here both makes me want to rip off his face and scares me at the same time."

"I can tell him to leave." Clary turned towards her son when he didn't say anything, reaching out to put her hand on the small boy's knee. "Honey, if this makes you uncomfortable, I can tell him not to come. We do this on your time, okay?"

He nodded, shrinking in his seat. "I want to wait." And just as Clary grabbed the phone, he reached out and stopped her. "But, I want to get this over with. Might as well, right?"

"Are you sure?"

He nodded. "I'm sure."

"Come here." He sunk into Clary's embrace as she held her entire world. He still hadn't hit his growth spurt, so Clary was able to wrap him up and feel like she could really protect him. "If you don't want to do this, we don't have to. You know that it's all or nothing. He gets both of us, or none of us." She pulled back, looking in Elijah's face lovingly. "What I want is irrelevant, okay? It's what you want."

He nodded, looking away and playing with his fingers. "Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you… do you still love him?" he asked, and there was a mix between hope, fear, and confusion in his eyes. "Even after all this time?"

It took a while to answer. "Does it really matter?"

He accepted that with a nod, and the doorbell rang shortly after. The two gave each other a look before Elijah stood to go answer the door. Clary watched as he walked with confidence, the same mirrored confidence that Jace grew up with. And when he opened the door, it really was like Clary was seeing double.

He looked good. Sporting khaki pants, black button up, slick boots, but the charming smile wasn't there. It was more a look of nervousness and worry.

To Clary's surprise, Elijah stepped aside, telling him to come in and walked back to the living room, plopping down next to Clary.

Jace closed the door, slowly making his way over. He stood behind the adjacent couch, hands on it as he smiled at Clary. "Hi."

"Hey," she said back, noting the look of concentration on Elijah's face. He was taking in everything, something Jace always did when he was younger. "Are you hungry?"

"Um, I was actually hoping we could talk."

Elijah looked at him curiously. "What do you mean by talk?"

Jace swallowed, looking down. "Well, I know you think this is strange–"

"A little bit."

"And I probably have no right to come here and ask this of you–"

"Why don't we just get to the point?" Elijah said, cutting him off. Clary's eyes were wide, and they only got wider when her son spit out, "Are you trying to get back together with Mom or not?"

Silence. Both adults looked at their son like he had two heads, and Clary didn't know what to say. Sure, he didn't sugarcoat. He never had. But he had never met his father and she wasn't sure if he'd act differently or not, maybe more shy, more reserved.

Apparently not.

Jace rubbed the back of his head nervously, a habit that hadn't changed in thirty years of living. "I don't think that we need to talk about this now–"

"It's a simple question."

"Elijah," Clary scolded.

He sighed, sinking into the couch with his arms folded and a pout on his face.

Clary sighed, standing and motioning for Jace to follow her to the kitchen. He did, but not without one last look at Elijah with a bit of worry on his face. They made it to the counter, and Jace was silent as Clary turned towards him, the few feet separating them.

"I want to say I'm sorry, but now you know the shit that we had to put up with when you were around now. That's how you always acted," she said.

He nodded, a small smile coming onto his face now.

"He's just like you," Clary added, taking note of Jace's eyes on everything but her. "And just like you, he wants answers. You wondered about your real Dad, about what happened to him. Michael never told you and it drove you up the wall. Well, Elijah has wondered the same thing for years."

"I know," Jace finally said. "And I feel like shit because of it. But if he's anything like me," Jace paused, "He's never going to give me a chance. I wouldn't give me a chance."

"That's where you're wrong." He looked up, a spark of hope in his eyes and Clary continued. "Because he's not just like you, but he's like me too. He'll give you a chance." She stepped forward, cupping Jace's face lightly. It was the first real contact they'd had in so many years. "Because I'm giving you a chance. And I don't want you to fuck this up. It's not just about us, it's about our son. My son. I won't put him in harm's way, and if your intentions aren't to stick around and be a father to him, then you need to leave, go back to football, and never look back here." She dropped her hand, giving him a stern look. "Understand?"

He nodded, speechless.

"Good." She stepped aside, moving towards the living room. "I'm going to get him, so get your shit together before we get back."

* * *

There was tension and it was tight, but Clary was at least happy that the boys were trying. She could tell that Jace was nervous and Elijah was skeptical of him, weary about every word that he said. She wished it could be simpler, but it couldn't.

Either way, they made it through dinner. The subject was light, going from Elijah's day at school to Jace's transfer to the new paintings that Clary was working on. They stayed away from serious subjects, taking their time to be careful of what they were talking about. But once they were finished, and Elijah started to get quiet, she wasn't oblivious to it.

And she knew she had to check on him when he started just pushing the rest of his potatoes across the plate. But she didn't get a chance to.

Jace beat her too it. "Elijah, you okay?"

"Fine."

Silence. And awkward silence as Jace looked to Clary for help. She shrugged. He tilted his head towards Elijah. She shook her head. It was a silent conversation between the two of them. And finally, Elijah had enough.

He dropped his fork, looking at Clary. "I just want to know if this is going to be a regular thing now."

"What?" she asked.

"This," Elijah gestured to the table, to the two adults. "I mean, I can't just blabber to Julian and Emma because you said to keep him," he pointed at Jace, "a secret. So, what's the deal? Is he supposed to be just a friend that I happen to look like? Because my friends at school are going to wonder what's going on. And honestly, I am to Mom."

He looked between the two of them, and the two adults were at a loss. They hadn't even had a chance to talk it out in the past 36 hours that Jace had been here, and Elijah wasn't even giving them a moment to breathe.

Jace spoke, softer than Clary had ever really heard him speak. "We haven't talked about it, Elijah. And that's something that you have to understand. It won't be fixed in a day, and it'll take much longer than you'd probably like, but whatever your mom wants," Jace looked up at her with sincerity, "and what you want," he looked back Elijah, "that's what will happen. I'm here and gone on your terms, but if you want it out in the open, then I'm here because I want to try."

"Try what?" Elijah shot back. "To be my dad? Because I've done fine without you. We've done just fine without you."

His attitude, for a thirteen year old, was definitely apparent.

Jace nodded, leaning forward on the table. "I know, and I get that. You don't need me, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to be there for you."

"You could've been here whenever you wanted." His voice started to get smaller, quieter. "It's not like money was ever an issue," he mumbled as well.

"Things were difficult, but you're right. I let them get in the way of the family that I wanted."

"And that's us?"

Jace gave him a small smile, looking over at Clary. She had always wanted to hear Jace say this, to have Jace come back, to have him explain what happened and why and that he was here for the long run. But she wasn't sure what Elijah wanted now, and that was more important, so she stayed quiet.

But Jace's eyes were on her with intensity. "It is, if you two want me."

"It'll take a lot more than just asking," Elijah said. "You have to prove it."

"And I will."

"I don't mean to my mom," he said as well. Clary's eyes widened at her son. "I mean to me. I know my mom. I know she forgave you a long time ago. Me? No." He leaned back in his seat, staring Jace down. "Not even close."

Jace nodded slowly, meeting the hard gaze of his son. "I understand that, but I do have an idea."

He paused, almost asking Clary for permission. She wasn't sure why. She was still trying to comprehend everything that was happening.

Jace gave Elijah a small smile. "And if you're anything like me, you'll love this. I promise."

"Your promises don't exactly mean a lot."

"Can you give me this one chance?" Jace looked hopeful. "If you don't like it, I'll drop the subject and… I guess, whatever you want after that, I'll have to live with."

"Fine. What is it?" he asked wearily but Clary could tell he was intrigued.

Jace smirked. "Have you ever been to a gun range?"

* * *

Weeks later, Clary smiled as Jace and Elijah pulled back up to the house from one of the practices that Jace had with his new team. The boys were smiling and seemed to be joking about something, and Elijah ended up trying to push Jace playfully, who dramatically fell to the ground, so Elijah tackled him, and eventually Clary had to step outside before the horseplay got too rough.

"Okay, boys, okay. Cut it out."

They relaxed, Jace propping himself on his elbows in the grass. "We're just joking."

"Yeah, Mom," Elijah added, jumping to his feet. "We all know I could take Jace if I wanted to."

The older blonde gave the younger one a look. "Is that so?"

"Well, you are getting old."

"Excuse me?"

Clary burst out laughing. "Alright. Elijah, go get cleaned up and change now that you've destroyed your pants." She pointed to the dirt stain on them. "We've got dinner plans with Mom and Luke."

"Just them?"

She nodded. "Just them, so get going."

"Is Dad coming?"

They both froze at that. Elijah just called Jace… Dad. Clary didn't know what to say, or what to do, or how to react, so she just kind of nodded before Elijah took that answer and took off towards the house.

Jace was still on the ground, staring at the front door. "Did he just…"

"Yeah."

"What the fuck?"

"I don't know."

The blonde stood up slowly, eyes still wide. "That's a joke, right? I mean, it's been like… a few weeks. Not even a month. But is that enough time to–"

"Are you really questioning whether it's early or not for your son to call you his father?"

Jace swallowed, shrugging his shoulder and shoving his hands into his jacket. "Well, I guess not. That was just shocking I guess."

"Well, you've had quite the effect on the boy."

He nodded, stepping forward. "So, what about you and me?"

"We've talked about this."

"About waiting for Elijah to be more comfortable. I got that. but you know that I'm here to stay. I'm not leaving, and Clary, I love you. I want to be with you. Besides, he can read both of us like books, he probably already knows."

She smiled, having heard that quite a bit recently. She wrapped her arms around Jace's neck like they had done plenty of times, pulling him close. "You're probably right, honestly."

His eyes glanced own to Clary's lips. "So, am I going to dinner as your ex-boyfriend or your current?"

"Which would you prefer?"

Jace quickly leaned down and kissed her lips, something they'd done a few times in the past weeks but this time, it was more serious, more meaning behind it. "Let's tell them."

"You two are disgusting!" Elijah yelled from his open window, laughing with Jace glared at him and Clary scolded him for spying. But he just shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, but just because you're my parents doesn't mean you can date and I can't! So I think Mom and I should talk about this no dating until I'm fifteen thing that she's gotten stuck in her head."

Jace rolled his eyes. "God, he is so my kid."

"Yes," Clary laughed, kissing his lips once again. "Yes he is."

* * *

 **ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST. Who knows if I'll get tired of writing these, but it's been a blast! Hope you guys like this one and that I'm doing your prompts justice.**


	13. Boyfriends and Best Friends

**Can you maybe give clary-alec or clary-magnus friendship oneshot? thankssss**

 **I wanted to ask if you could maybe do one again where Jace is a few years younger than Clary**

 **Maybe do one where Alec is a barista and Magnus is a regular, and they've had crushes on each other for a long time?**

 **Here's another mix, since it just makes sense to mix them. Seriously, these worked pretty well together and sorry it's short but it kind of fits as a short story... soo... have fun!**

* * *

"ALEXANDER LIGHTWOOD!"

Clary stomped up the stairs, pissed at one of her best friends, once again. He groaned and fell on his bed, knowing she was coming. Once she burst through the door, throwing it against the wall, he jumped slightly but tried to hide it.

"What the fuck, Alec?"

He shrugged. "I don't know what you want me to say."

Clary moved and sat on the bed, looking at Alec sadly as he pulled his knees to his chest, obviously upset. "Look, Alec, I'm not trying to be mad, but it's really hard not to want to slap you right now. I mean, you had your chance and you blew it!"

He groaned. "I know, Clary! God, I know! He kissed me and I ran. What more is there to it?"

"Well, call him."

He rolled his eyes. "Like Magnus wants to talk to me right now. He's been coming to the coffee shop for weeks now, and the first time we hang out he kisses me and I run off. This is great."

Clary reached out and put her hand on Alec's knee. "Look, I don't know this guy, but I know you. You've been excited about the tall Asian mixed guy coming into the shop every morning for the past few weeks, and I don't want to see you blow this if it could work pretty well. I mean, you seemed so excited and then panicked."

He shrugged one shoulder, staring at the bed.

"Do you think you're still scared of your sexuality?"

He bit his lip, nodding and dropping his head to his knees. "I think so."

"There's nothing wrong with that, Alec."

"But you've seen him, Clary," he said. "Magnus is completely open about it, like it doesn't bother him at all. He's accepted it. And you've heard stories at school. What happens when one person accepts it and the other doesn't?"

"Fights and breakups," she confirmed. "But that doesn't mean he can't help you accept it. Besides, I know you. You have enough regrets that maybe it's time for you to put yourself out there. You've let plenty of guys slip through your fingers. Don't let Magnus. What's the worst that could happen?"

"The place would basically go out of business if it wasn't for him."

Clary laughed, kissing Alec on the cheek as she stood up. "You're funny. But seriously, consider it."

He nodded, giving his friend a small smile. "I will."

* * *

Alec dropped of the caramel latte to the next costumer, turning back to the register. He'd been working for three hours, and he was starting to get tired of standing on his feet. Especially when his younger coworker wasn't doing anything but flirting.

"Jace," Alec scolded at the seventeen year old. "Will you get your shit together and actually take the drive-thru orders?"

"I can't flirt over a headset," he shot back, smiling at the blonde in front of him over the counter.

Alec rolled his eyes, ignoring him but smiling when Clary and Isabelle walked in. They always visited work as much as they could to ease some of Alec's worry, and he beamed when they walked in.

But Jace, the new kid of two weeks, hadn't met them. Luckily, he hadn't really worked the same shifts as Alec, and that was the moment that he'd been avoiding. And as soon as he saw Clary, the blonde pushed away and moved towards the register, bumping Alec out of the way who looked at him incredulously.

"Hello, ladies," Jace beamed, giving the two twenty year olds a charming smile. "How are you doing today?"

Clary raised her eyebrows at the teenager.

Isabelle just ignored him, looking at Alec. "The usual, Alec."

He nodded. "Coming right up, Iz."

"You two know each other?" Jace asked, pointing between them.

"Is the family resemblance that difficult to see?" Isabelle asked.

The blonde shrugged one shoulder. "I've learned not to jump to conclusions."

Clary scoffed. "You haven't learned to mind your own business though."

Jace looked at Clary with intensity. "So, what's your name?"

"And you're not learning that either," Clary said, grabbing Isabelle and heading to their usual table.

Jace watched them go, and Alec had to stop himself from laughing as he made the macchiatos for the girls. Finally, Jace sighed and turned to Alec. "Okay, the redhead, what's her name?"

"She's three years older than you, Jace. And she's way out of your league."

"You doubt me."

"No. I know her. She won't fall for your not so charming charm."

Jace sidled up next to Alec, taking the drinks from his hands and getting the foam ready. "What's her favorite band?"

Alec chuckled. "Her boyrfriend's."

"Oh," Jace said sadly. "She has a boyfriend. For how long?"

"God," Alec snatched the drinks, giving Jace a look. "You're ridiculous, Jace. Just take the register and don't burn the place down."

Before the younger boy could reply, Alec left and dropped the drinks by the girl's table, laughing as he explained to Clary the little crush Jace had and the excuses he came up with.

She was drinking when he mentioned Simon and Clary almost choked, laughter lighting up her eyes. "You told him I'm dating Simon?"

Alec nodded with a smile. "You should've seen his face. He was crushed. I think he's already in love with you."

"Well, apparently I'm taken."

"Unless you want me to tell you that you two miraculously broke up, out of the blue, five minutes after miraculously getting together." Alec pointed to Jace, indicating he could do it. "I can do it now, bring his hopes back into his life."

Clary shook her head, looking at Jace. "That's okay. I'll deal with the baby Casanova, Alec. Don't worry about it. It's always funny when high schoolers think they're so smooth. But nice joke, by the way. I'll play along for the hell of it."

Isabelle glanced between her best friend and her brother. "For the record, Simon is mine and Clary, this is not a funny joke."

Both burst out laughing at Isabelle's seriousness. "I know, Iz. Relax. I wouldn't dare take Simon from you." Clary leaned back, holding her hands up. "I mean, does it look like I have a death wish?"

"True," Alec added. "We're smarter than that. And he's definitely not my type, baby sister."

"Good," Iz said, drinking her coffee. "I just want to make sure we're all on the same page."

Clary leaned forward, smirking at Alec. "So, when does Magnus usually show up?"

* * *

Alec sighed as he helped another customer, another person, another day. Clary and Isabelle were still in the corner, lurking and trying to find Magnus. Jace was still flirting with them every chance he got. And Alec was still getting more upset as he waited and waited but nothing happened.

"Shit!"

Alec looked up as a blonde girl seemed to bump into a table and knock over a few drinks from two boys. Alec knew that Jace was too busy with his sister and his best friend, so he grabbed a towel, told Bat to hold the drive-thru line, and headed over to the spill.

"I'm so sorry," the girl said, almost distraught.

Alec just smiled. "It's okay. It happens all the time."

"No, really, I didn't mean to–"

"I'm sure it's fine, darling," a voice said, one Alec recognized acutely. "Besides, I'll help him."

"But–"

"Really," Alec added. "It's okay."

The girl nodded in appreciation, and after Alec cleaned it and promised the guys two new drinks, he stood and smiled at Magnus who was standing there with his arms crossed over his jacket, a now damp towel in his hand, and winking at him. "How's work?"

Alec wasn't sure where to go with the conversation, but he was glad Magnus took the reins. "Um, good. Just kind of busy."

"Too busy for a break?"

He wanted a break more than anything, but he glanced over to where Jace was, seeing him sitting with Clary and Isabelle. By now, he'd actually gotten them to talk to him, and although Alec didn't like it, he was more worried about Magnus.

The Asian boy followed Alec's gaze. "Blondie kind of useless today?"

"Yeah. It's just about as usual as always. Everyone else does all the work, Jace flirts with pretty girls."

Magnus sighed. But then he seemed to have an idea and grabbed Alec's hand. "You know what, come on." He yanked Alec back behind the bar, heading for the back door. Although he was confused, Alec let him do it until he stepped outside the back entrance.

"What are you doing?"

"I missed you," Magnus said quickly, his hands going to Alec's face. And before Alec could say anything or stop him, Magnus's lips were on his, insistent and quick but still soft and gentle. They slowly moved until Alec's back was pressed to the back of the Starbucks building, and he was barely breathing.

After what felt like an eternity, Magnus smiled against Alec's lips and pulled away, holding him by the hips. "You're not going to run away this time, are you?"

Although Alec loved that kiss, he was still scared. He hated that, but he was. "No, but…"

Magnus understood. "It's not easy. And I can relate to that. we can take our time. If that's secrets and back alleys behind your work for the time being, I'll deal."

Alec's eyebrows rose. "Really?"

"Yeah, we don't have to tell anyone if you don't–"

"Izzy knows," Alec interrupted. "And Clary. And Simon, so it's not like you're some secret. You're just… a group's secret."

Magnus smiled at that. "It's the first step." He leaned in an kissed Alec one more time. "And if I ever get too intense, you know that you can back me off, right?"

"Yeah, but right now," Alec grabbed his shirt, slowly pulling him forward. "I may be working, but I can take my break now."

"How long does that give us?"

"Ten minutes."

Magnus smiled. "We can get a lot done in five minutes."

* * *

Isabelle rolled her eyes as this new Jace kid continued to attempt to flirt with Clary. By now, he grabbed an extra chair and just volunteered to join them.

In Clary's defense, the kid wasn't exactly a kid. His birthday was in two weeks, he was turning eighteen, he had a full ride scholarship for baseball to Kentucky University, and he was a pretty good student. Honestly, Clary was surprised. He seemed to have a pretty good head on his shoulders, even if he was a flirt and a bit of a egocentric.

"So," he said, leaning forward and smirking at Clary. "You're in art school at…"

Isabelle answered. "None of your business, blondie."

Clary laughed. "I go to one of the art schools in Brooklyn."

"Are you planning on being a painter?"

"What else would you do with an art degree?"

He was about to answer when Clary thought that Isabelle perked up, looking behind her. She did as well, and both girls noticed Alec and Magnus walking back into the backdoor, hands together and smiles on their faces. Isabelle raised an eyebrow and stood.

"Being nosey?" Clary asked, teasingly.

"Very much so," Isabelle answered as she took off towards her brother at the counter.

Jace watched her go, a confused expression on his face. "Is it that big a deal that Alec has a boyfriend?"

"No," Clary said. "It's that big a deal that he has a boyfriend he's willing to be public with."

"Oh, so he's kind of quiet?"

"Have you not noticed that yet?"

"I don't know him that well," Jace pointed out, bringing Clary's attention back to him and away from the siblings. "I've only worked with him a couple times, but I kind of worried about him."

Clary frowned. "Why?"

"I know what it's like to keep something big inside, scared to tell people. It can eat someone alive. But Magnus is cool, and I'm glad he and Alec get along well enough to try it out. It sucks when it's not reciprocated or one person is scared. It puts a strain on a relationship that isn't necessary."

She cocked her head to the side as Jace mumbled that out. "Is this from personal experience?"

He shrugged. "Ex-girlfriend."

Clary nodded. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, my ex-boyfriend was a dick."

"Knowing that someone treated you wrong only makes me want to kick his ass," Jace said, a small smile on his face.

She laughed and leaned back in her chair. "Well, my knight in shining armor, I still have his address in case you're serious."

"Could I take him?"

She shrugged. "He's twenty-three and played football before he graduated from Florida State."

Jace swallowed. "What position?"

"Line-backer."

"Well," he said, nodding slowly as he thought about it. "Um…"

Clary laughed. "I'm kidding."

"So, you're current boyfriend didn't kick his ass?"

"Not quite," Clary said, leaning forward as Jace gave her a curious look. "You see, Simon tried. But he ended up breaking his glasses. Plus, he's kind of dating my friend over there," she said, pointing at Isabelle as she talked crazily with Alec and Magnus, "So his intentions were a little bit different."

Jace frowned, looking and forth between them before she watched him have an epiphany. "So… you're not, your boyfriend, it's not–"

Clary shook her head. "Alec just wanted you to relax a bit and drop the flirty, playboy attitude. Which, as you can see," Clary pointed between the two of them. "It didn't really happen."

Jace looked down, almost as if he started to be shy. "If I'm annoying you, I can leave. I can take a hint."

Clary reached over and grabbed Jace's shirt as he started to stand. "If you can keep your hands to yourself, you can stay, Casanova."

"A college girl asking me to stay." Jace beamed. "Wait until my friends hear about this."

She dropped his shirt, holding a finger up sternly. "Let's get this straight. I'm not asking you, Jace."

He smiled. "But you want me to."

"That's it, you can leave."

He leaned forward as she sat back, and he took her chin in his fingers. "Come on, Clary, we were just starting to get to know each other."

* * *

 **And, what do you think? Young Jace is fun :) let me know in a review and stay tuned for more!**


	14. Strippers and Innocents

**Clary is a stripper trying to pay for art school and Jace comes in the strip club cause of his best friends bachelor party. (I think that would be interesting lol.)**

 **Maybe one where Clary is the more wild of the two and Jace is the more calmer of the two.? I'd love to read one where Clary is the "bad girl" since she usually portrayed as the sweet, innocent and/or goodie-to-shoes. She needs to love a little lol.**

* * *

Clary sighed as she changed backstage. Her locker wasn't exactly anything glorious, neither was her life or job. She wished that this wasn't how it had to be, but what could she do? Her brother ditched. Her mother wasn't very helpful. Her father was a psychopath. Her grandparents… she never knew them. She was twenty-one and on her own at this point.

So she just grit her teeth every Friday and Saturday night, putting a fake, plastic smile on her face as she changed into the skimpy, basically-covers-nothing two piece that her boss, Isabelle made her wear.

And speak of the devil, her boss walked in just as she fixed her hair and stood from her seat by the mirror.

"Clary."

She sighed knowing what this conversation was about. "Iz."

"We need to have a bit of a chat."

Clary sat back down. "The guy was a douche bag. I'm not apologizing."

"You punched Meliorn, my biggest client, in the face." Isabelle crossed her arms and glared down from her much taller height. "Give me one good reason not to fire you."

"Your profits have improved by 40% since I started working here," Clary said. "And not to mention, I'm better than half the girls here and I don't have to strip down to nothing and get banged for the extra hundred bucks, but if you're willing to lose the money that bought you those," she pointed towards Isabelle's brand new heels, "then be my guest. Fire me."

Isabelle hated this, and Clary knew it. They got along just fine when it didn't have to do with work. In fact, they were friends because Isabelle was even giving Clary extra pay checks every once in a while to pay for school or rent or everything else she needed to pay for. It worked pretty well between them until Clary decided to teach one of their customers a lesson, something that happened about once a month.

Iz sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingers. "You know the drill. Just… keep your hands to yourself, Clary. At least, I mean, when it comes to hurting the customers."

She smiled innocently. "Of course."

* * *

"TO SEBASTIAN! THE MAN OF THE HOUR!"

Everyone toasted and Jace laughed as one of the strippers that they hired slid over Sebastian with his 'I'm the Bachelor' hat. She was all over him and Jace was just happy that it wasn't him in that seat. He wouldn't even know what to do.

Everyone seemed to be having a blast though, and Jace nodded towards his best friend when Alec sidled up next to him. "You as out of place as I am?"

"Yes," Jace agreed. "Although, knowing Magnus, the only thing that's out of place for you is the females."

Alec blushed. "Magnus is just… you know."

"He also has his own bachelor pads."

"Yes," Alec said. "And there's nothing wrong with that. He's confident at least."

"Along with all of these strippers. I wouldn't even know how to talk to them."

Magnus draped his arms over the two boys, obviously drunk and happy. "Jacey, my boy, talking isn't exactly the thing you do with strippers. I know you're shy and gentle, but come on. Even you know that much when it comes to entertainers."

"Yeah, you don't say."

"You know what," Magnus said, giving Jace a smirk. "You need to get laid. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

He swallowed. It's been longer than a while. "No, I'm fine, Magnus."

But the sparkly man shook his head. "No. It's Sebastian's bachelor party. It's a great night. I'm drunk. There are plenty of beautiful women around here. Why don't you just ask one out?"

"Because," Jace said.

"Because what?"

"You don't just ask a stripper on a date," Jace shot back. "Are you crazy?"

"I could get one to date you."

Jace pulled away, shaking his head. "Magnus, no."

"Why not? Alec's sister is the owner. I'm sure she could point us to the not crazy girls who are decent people looking to be loved."

Alec rolled his eyes. "Magnus, I really don't think this is a good idea."

"I do." Magnus turned, heading towards the door of the private room. "I'm going to find Isabelle."

* * *

Clary spun around the pole as the music blasted through the club. Some of the creeps staring at her and tucking money into her string around her hips were regulars, guys that have drooled over her for the past year. But others, they were new and they were the ones she wanted to avoid.

She had twisted and dipped down, earning whoops and hollers when suddenly she was whistled at. But it was an 'Isabelle needs you' whistle, not a 'you're hot' kind of whistle.

She stood up, hands on the pole as she saw Izzy next to the stage, motioning for her to get down. "Follow me."

The boys groaned but Maia, aka: Chastity, quickly stepped up, and they all cheered as she instantly got to work while Clary was yanked away by Isabelle.

"Where are we going?" Clary asked, smiling as someone held her a ten and she just snatched it out of his hands and tucked it away. "Isabelle."

"Just follow me."

They made it back stage where it was quiet and there was actually light. She finally yanked her arm out of Isabelle's grip, taking her one hour's worth of money so far that seemed to be about three hundred dollars and throwing it in her locker before asking Isabelle, "Okay, what?"

"Don't freak out, but you've been requested."

Clary's eyes narrowed. "If this is some sleazy forty year old guy that doesn't get enough sex from his wife and even thinks about–"

"Clary, relax."

She did, crossing her arms and leaning against the locker. "Fine. You have two seconds to explain."

"His name is Sebastian. Well, it's his party but he's not the one requesting you."

That was it. That was all Clary got. When she realized Isabelle was waiting for Clary not to snap and egg her on, she gestured to continue. "Okay. Go."

"Good." Isabelle pulled out her phone, slid to something, and tossed it to Clary. "Remember him?"

Clary did. Tall, thin, intense eyes, sparkles everywhere, Asian descent. "Magnus. What about him?"

"You met him like a month ago."

"Thank you for the rehash," she said sarcastically.

Isabelle sighed and snatched her phone back. "Look, his friend Sebastian is having a bachelor party right now. Maia is over there with the group, but I need another girl over there to keep them happy, and Magnus wants you."

Clary frowned. "I met him once when I looked like a whore and he was shit faced. How does he remember me?"

"I don't know. He said something about Jace."

"Jace?"

"Yes, my brother's best friend."

Clary was really confused now. "Alec?"

Isabelle sighed before nodding. "Look. It's Sebastian's party, and Jace and Sebastian were roommates in college. Alec, Jace, and I have known each other a long time so Magnus was easily caught up in the group. So Alec is taken, Magnus likes trouble, they need another girl at the party, and Jace is single."

Clary took another moment to think before she realized what Isabelle was implying. "Am I getting paid to dance with the bachelor, or with Jace?"

Isabelle shrugged one shoulder apologetically. "He's really sweet, you know. Kind, smart, gentle. He's just a little shy."

"Iz. Seriously?"

"And he's hot if that helps."

"God," Clary groaned, covering her eyes with her hands. "Today is not a good day for this Isabelle. I had a shit day at school and my canvas was ripped on the way to the gallery and I don't have time to deal with some horn dog that wants to pay for sex that I'm not giving."

Isabelle stepped forward and put her hands on Clary's face. "Magnus is paying three grand to make this happen. And you just have to make the guy happy."

Clary's eyes widened. "What?"

"He's a fashion designer that likes to have fun." Isabelle gave Clary a hopeful look. "Do this for me?"

Clary sighed. "You owe me big."

"We'll split it seventy-thirty."

"Deal," she said, holding her hand out as the girls shook hands. "Now, what exactly am I changing into? What am I getting paid to do?"

Isabelle smiled. "Follow me."

* * *

Jace was sitting by the table with Alec, fiddling with his whiskey and watching as Maia, the stripper, danced against Jordan. The boys were occupied with two new strippers that apparently Magnus chipped in for in order to keep them for a few hours, and Jace was torn. He didn't mind it, but he didn't exactly like paying women to do what they want. He found it dirty.

So instead of participating, he and Alec stayed back and just relaxed.

Until Jace felt hands on his chest and he froze. Alec looked up and just sipped his drink, finding Magnus and leaving with a smirk on his face along with a glint in his eyes as Jace gave him a what the fuck look.

What was he supposed to do? Jace didn't know what to do, what to say. He didn't know who this person was, what she looked like, his heart started racing.

"Are you Jace Wayland?"

He swallowed at the sound of that voice. The music was toned down in this room, so her whisper in his ear was heard loud and clear.

He nodded. "Um, y – yeah."

His eyes only widened as the women stepped in front of him, moving his chair and pushing back to sit on his lap. Jace's hands were glued to his side, looking up at the women before him.

Red curls, perfect make-up, a sexy little smile. She was in an all-white outfit that was basically a bikini with a piece that attached the bottom of the top portion to the top of the bottom portion, a small section that ran across her stomach. Jace's eyes were glued to her chest though as she wrapped her arms around his neck, cocking her head to the side teasingly.

"Hi."

He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

The stripper raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing Magnus didn't tell you I was coming."

He shook his head.

"Articulation is attractive, by the way."

He swallowed and nodded, pointing towards the group behind her. "Um, I'm not the bachelor. Sebastian is."

"I know."

"So… um, what's going on?"

She smiled, running one hand across Jace's chest and pulling at the top button of his shirt. "Well, handsome, I'm here for you. Not your friend."

Jace's cheeks turned red. "Wh - why?"

She suddenly paused and for the first time, looked unsure. "What do you mean why?"

"I didn't… order a, you know, whatever. And I'm not like comfortable with…"

Her eyes widened and she tilted her head back. "Oh my god. You've got to be shitting me."

He tensed. "What?"

"You're… Jesus Christ."

She slipped off of him, her hand going to her head like she just realized some stupid secret that she didn't want to be apart of. Luckily, everyone was across the room and occupied, the lighting low enough to not be noticed too bad since Jace had no idea what was going on.

Jace jumped up, and looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Will you be honest with me?"

"About what?"

"Are you a virgin?"

Jace's eyes widened at the question. "Wha – no, I'm not – I mean, I didn't–"

"Fucking Isabelle."

He stopped talking, scratching the back of his head. "Um, can I ask what's going on?"

She looked around, sighing. "Look, this is not the best time or place to talk about what douche bags your friends are."

Jace looked around. Jordan and Sebastian were occupied with the girls. Magnus and Alec were making out in the corner. If this girl just left, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. But he didn't know how to talk to someone like her. Someone that beautiful, confident, and… overwhelming. But she looked really embarrassed and frustrated.

With one last glance towards his friend, he grabbed his wallet. "What's your name?"

"My name or my stripper name?"

He swallowed, forgetting about that. "Well, your real name."

"Clary."

"Is there a place we can, like, talk, Clary?"

She gave him a 'are you serious' look. "You want to leave? You want to just talk?"

"I think they're pretty occupied," he said, pointing towards his friends. "And I'm guessing that this was a setup since Magnus is a part of this from what you said. And, honestly, I don't know what to do in this situation."

Clary laughed at that actually. "Mind if I put on actual clothes?"

He blushed at that. "Um, yeah, sure. Go ahead."

"Follow me then," Clary said, grabbing Jace's hand and pulling him out of the room. Jace looked back to make sure they weren't caught, but he looked at Magnus as he did. Mags just tilted his glass up, Alec attached the his neck, and winked before Clary successfully yanked Jace out of the room.

Jace had his hands shoved in his pocket as Clary moved towards her locket, pulling out a sweatshirt that had the state's art school logo on it and some sweat pants. She slipped them on over her white, angel like outfit as Jace just watched, unable to tear his eyes away.

Clary looked up and their eyes met. She smirked. "Do you not see girls in their underwear often?"

He looked away and swallowed. "Um, no. no I don't."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

She laughed and closed her locker, messing with the money that she earned that night and slipping it into her purse. "Why do I feel like I'm talking to a thirteen year old boy who's never seen boobs in person before?"

He groaned. This was not the way he wanted this to go, whatever this was. If anything, he'd like to be just friends. But he wasn't sure what the hell this was. And he wasn't use to girls being so vulgar and have so much attitude. Magnus yes. Izzy, unfortunately but they were practically sisters. This girl. No.

With a nervous look, he shrugged one shoulder and ignored her question. "Are you going to get in trouble for leaving early?"

"Isabelle already got her pay for the day from everyone whether I'm here or not. Besides, I have a different job to do." She walked over and took Jace's and again. "So, follow me, pretty boy."

They made their way outside and Jace let go of her hand to go call a cab. But he made it two steps when she grabbed his jacket. "Where do you think you're going?"

He pointed to the street. "We need a ride."

She smirked. "We have one." She beckoned him to follow and walked down the alley to the left. Jace hesitated before taking a deep breath and following her.

In the back, locked to one of the fences in the back parking lot, what a black Ducati motorcycle. Jace eyed it as Clary walked right towards it, flipping her legs over it and fixing her hoody as she got situation. She smiled up at him as he eyed it skeptically. "Want to ride?"

"This is yours?"

"That's why I'm on it."

He nodded once before slowly stepping forward, looking at it like it was a beast on its own. "You've never ridden before?"

He shook his head. "Not exactly."

"Just get on."

With a deep breath, he slipped behind her. "Okay."

"Put your arms around me."

Even though she was sitting on his lap less than fifteen minutes earlier, he was nervous about this and wasn't sure exactly how to go about it. So she reached behind her, holding his wrists and moving them around her waist before locking them together.

She tilted her head back. "Good?"

He nodded. "Um, yeah."

"Perfect." She started the bike and Jace tensed.

"What about helmets?"

"I know most of the cops around here and they won't care if I'm just going to Taki's or home. They know I'm not stupid."

Jace frowned. "You know the cops?"

"They're pigs, like everyone else." When Jace still looked confused, she rolled her eyes. "They're some of our best customers."

"Oh."

She looked forward as she revved the bike once for good measure and Jace tensed, expecting it to move. She laughed. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," she smiled, before hitting the gas and laughing as Jace tightened around here again.

"Hey, Clary! Usual table?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yeah."

Clary and Jace followed the waiter towards the back of a small diner that he'd never been to before. It was cute and small, and it seemed pretty homey when they took their seats, Clary giving the waiter a small smile. "Thanks, Simon."

He smiled back. "Let me know whatever you need."

"You're the best."

Jace watched with amusement as the waiter who was obviously crushing on Clary walked off a moment later. "He has the hots for you."

"So do you," Clary pointed out, giving Jace a small smirk. "Do you really want just go around and state the obvious?"

This time, Jace ducked his head to hide the blush. He hated how she countered everything he said. But he couldn't deny it either. "Touché."

Clary dropped her menu as Jace looked hesitant and leaned forward. "Look, I'm kidding. I'm not used to talking to someone like you."

"Like me?"

"You're a quiet confident that doesn't like to exploit girls."

"Um, yeah."

"I'm a stripper, Jace. All I do is get exploited for money. Touches, whistles, grabbing, sleazy comments. It gets annoying after a while." She cocked her head to the side. "This is new for the both of us. Not to mention I'm never out of work this early on a Friday night."

He smiled as he finally started to relax. "Why do you work there anyway?"

"Pays the bills," she shrugged.

"And that?" he pointed towards the college sweatshirt. "You go there?"

She nodded down, touching the crest and giving him a small smile. "Um, yeah actually. I do. Most guys wouldn't even pay that close of attention."

"It's right in front of me," Jace laughed.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that most guys normally care. They just want me to strip and show them something they hadn't seen before."

Jace felt bad for her. She talked about this like it was nothing, but it wasn't nothing. He also didn't know what to say to that. the last thing she probably wanted was sympathy, or charity, or anything really.

She finally continued. "You don't have to feel weird about it. It's just to get me through college and Isabelle said I can start bartending soon so hopefully I can stop being groped and actually not hate going to work."

He finally nodded at that, but was sick of talking about that and wanted to change the subject. "So, your art stuff. Can I see any of it?

"Um, I don't know."

She was nervous! Jace smiled at the fact that he finally had a way to get the attention off of his nervousness and leaned forward. "Tell me. I want to see them."

"It's kind of personal."

He stuck his bottom lip out. "Please?"

She caught his eyes and sighed before pulling out her phone. "You're lucky you're cute."

He beamed and snatched her phone when she pulled up the pictures. He didn't speak and was quiet as he scrolled through pictures of drawings and paintings. She was good. Towns, people, animals, sunsets, landscapes, galaxies. She had a whole online portfolio of everything Jace could imagine.

Finally, he just whistled his appreciate. "These are amazing."

She reached across and snatched her phone back. "Okay, enough about me. What's your deal?"

"Deal?"

"You're gorgeous and nervous around women. Why?"

He just shrugged. "I've had to work two jobs to get through college. Alec helped me out when I was younger, but I've never been one to accept help that much. So I never really had time to get around."

"Where were your parents?"

"Biological ones are dead," he said flatly before turning the tables. "Yours?"

"Dad was drunk and tried to kill me when I was thirteen. My mom turned into a drug addict and I don't know here she is. So, I'm on my own."

"Siblings?"

"One," she said. "But he was so sick of the family that he turned 18 and moved to Europe. I haven't talked to him in four years."

"Some brother."

She shrugged. "Well, it could be worse I guess. Isabelle really helped me out, so, you know."

He nodded. "Yeah. Can't say I'm complaining right now, anyway with how things turned out," he smiled.

Clary laughed lightly at that. "So he does know how to flirt. I thought I was going to have to beat it out of you."

His confidence that he didn't know was there started to come out, much to Jace's own surprise. "I mean, I wouldn't be opposed to it."

Clary laughed at the suggestion, shaking her head. "You know, I think we could be good friends."

"Just friends?"

"Depends," she said, leaning forward. She gestured for Jace to do the same and they were inches away over the table when she stopped him. "How much can you handle?"

"Depends." He smirked. "How much can you give me?"

* * *

Jace walked into Magnus's house the next morning a little after breakfast. He didn't know if anyone would even be back, or if they successfully made it back, but he found Sebastian on the couch, Alec on the floor, Jordan in the recliner, so at least they made it back even if it wasn't to actual beds.

The smell of coffee was coming from the kitchen so he made it was over, finding Magnus looking like he had a typical 8 hours of rest and was a cheerful as ever. The sparkly boy beamed as Jace's appearance.

"So, how was your night?"

His button up was a mess and half open. His jacket was in his hands. His hair was ridiculous, more than likely, and he had a goofy smile on his face.

"I didn't sleep with her," Jace pointed out instantly.

"You two left pretty quickly."

"You paid her to accompany me, doesn't mean it had to be in that hell hole."

"So did she? I want my money's worth."

Jace rolled his eyes, dropping his wallet and keys and miscellaneous stuff on the counter. "We went to eat and relaxed and talked. It was better than hanging out with you losers anyway."

Magnus shrugged. "Looks like you stayed at her house, huh?"

"Just sleeping," He pointed out. "We drank a bit when we got back and she fell asleep on me on the couch."

"Sure."

"Magnus."

"I believe you," he said, holding his hands up. "I do."

Jace rolled his eyes and went for the coffee, wanting to punch Magnus's smirk right off of his face. But he didn't.

"So," Magnus said over the rim of his cup. "Are you going to see her again?"

His phone buzzed in his pocket before he could answer. "I hope so." He pulled it out, smiling when he realized Clary put her name in his phone as 'Angel', and it was cute even if it was her stripper name.

 _You forgot something at my place – Angel_

And attached was a picture of his credit card with Clary holding it with a smirk on her face in a tank top with her messy hair. He wasn't worried though. She teased him and did stuff all night, and this was probably just going to get worse as they got to know each other.

"She has my credit card," he laughed. "So I have to see her again to get it back."

Magnus nodded and smiled. "She's a sneaky one, that's for sure."

"Yeah," Jace agreed. But he didn't mind.

 _Dinner tonight? – Jace_

 _Sure, I'll pay_ _\- Angel_

 _With my credit card? – Jace_

 _You learn fast, hope you can keep up – Angel_

 _I think I proved that last night – Jace_

 _Well, Mr. Wayland, there's more that you need to learn than just last night. Just be prepared. – Angel_

 _Bring it on, Angel - Jace_

* * *

 **That was fun. Sorry it's been a while, but I'm still looking at the ones you guys are suggesting! I've just been slow on actually writing, so again, I apologize and love the comments from you guys.**


	15. Fraternities and sororities

**Oh my god I love them all! Can you write one where they are in college, where they are both in a frat and sorority. And clary is really irritated by him bit can't do anything because his frat is like partners with her sorority! And clary should have had feelings for him her freshmen year but now she knows better kind of thing, but he doesn't give up on her.**

* * *

"I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!"

Isabelle rolled her eyes as Clary paced back and forth in front of her. She casually flipped through her magazine as the redhead seemed to think it was the end of the world. "Clary, it's just a party."

"What was Maia thinking?" Clary yelled.

Isabelle closed her magazine and tossed it aside. "It's a party. You've been to plenty of them. Why are you freaking out about this one? It's just a bit of drinking and dancing."

"It's who I have to go with."

Isabelle laughed. "So Jace drew your name out of the hat. We all have to go with people we don't really care for. You think I'm stoked about going to the party with Simon? Well, it happens."

"Maia is going with Jordan," Clary pointed out. "She's the lucky one. She actually likes the guy."

"We all know she's in love with Bat. It's just as complicated."

"Who's idea was this anyway?"

"Sit down," Isabelle demanded, pointing to the spot next to her on the couch. Clary sighed and did, taking the spot and clamping her hands together. "We're seniors, shouldn't you be a bit more mature about your old crush?"

Clary shrugged, obviously not wanting to talk about this. "Jace was a jerk when we first met. We both were, and we made mistakes, and we've been weird to each other ever since."

"You think you have," Isabelle pointed out. "Jace is a douche to everyone but you. Yes, he was even a dick in the beginning ,but he's changed. When you come around, he just watches you. Where he still has feelings for you and shows it, you just kind of brush it off and run to Simon to save you."

"Because I don't know what else to do. He makes me so mad that I want to punch him. Not exactly great friendship material."

Isabelle laughed, leaning back in the couch and smiling. "You remember that time you dumped beer on his head sophomore year?"

"Ugh, don't remind me. If he wasn't in our brother fraternity, I wouldn't have to see him. But no, he's at every party and I avoid him like the plague, but he always finds his ways to irritate me." Clary dropped her face to her hands. "I'm required to spend the entire night with him. What am I going to do?"

Honestly, Iz actually felt bad for Clary. They were best friends as soon as they met at Rush Week and she's seen Clary get terrorized by her step brother. Jace never admitted to it, but he had reasons for the things that he did. He wanted to hide his feelings, and Clary refused to think that he had a reason other than he was just an asshole, which he wasn't. The confusion had messed with Clary for years so far, and it never stopped.

With a hand on Clary's knee, she gave the girl a small smile. "I can talk to Alec, tell him to keep Jace on a tight leash."

"Who is Alec going with?" Clary asked.

"I think he got Lydia for the dance. But we all know that even if he is with her and Magnus got Camille, that the boys will eventually find their way to each other again."

"I just don't want to bother him," Clary said shyly.

Isabelle shook her head. "We all love you, Clare. Alec won't mind trying to keep Jace calm if it saves your sanity."

Clary sighed. "I just don't know what Jace's problem is with me."

"Me either," Isabelle lied.

* * *

"Need any help?"

Clary looked up from her spot on the lawn and frowned when she saw Jace leaning against the tree behind her, staring at the doodle in her notebook with a smirk on his face. "What are you doing here?"

"I asked if you needed help."

"Like you have any kind of artistic bone in your body."

He scoffed. "I could model for you."

Clary turned back, rolling her eyes. "I'd rather vomit."

Without an invitation, he sat down next to her, pulling his legs to his chest. Clary, who always dressed quite conservative but still fun, was considering herself a nun next to Jace. His shirt was gone. He had what could be considered soccer shorts, but that was it. If he ever had a shirt on outside, it was a miracle.

He leaned over, staring at the drawing of the art building that Clary was doodling. "Can I ask you something?"

"No."

He continued anyway. "You've always been artistic. So why are you studying marketing?"

Clary dropped the pencil and closed her sketch book, setting it aside before looking at Jace. "Don't you have something better to do than to judge my life choices?"

"I'm not judging."

"Whatever it is you're doing."

"I'm wondering why you aren't following a passion of yours," he insisted. "I've watched you draw for years, paint, make stuff, be creative. You never actually put yourself into classes though. You're naturally talented, and Isabelle will talk about the stuff you make all the time. It's all over the Delta House, so why not follow that passion to a place of work?"

Clary, who wasn't really expecting that kind of question, didn't really know any kind of answer. "I… don't know. Marketing was just… safer."

"I never pegged you for a girl who took the safe and easy way out."

Clary rolled her eyes. "You don't exactly know me that well, Jace."

"I know you better than you think."

"Oh, yeah? What's my favorite color?"

"Gold," He said confidently. "But not like the jewelry or money. More like the kind of fading sun, or the shine that comes off of blonde hair at the just the right angle."

Her eyes widened when he spoke. "Um, how did you–"

"We were all at the beach, sophomore year, spring break," he pointed out. "You were drunk and talking to Sebastian. I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but you guys were playing twenty questions and that was one of them." He leaned back, now satisfied that he had her attention, and continued. "You also have two tattoos, one just below your bra line that says 'All things start truly with wicked innocence', and the other one is of a lion, just above your hip bone in black and white. Your brother, Jonathan, was in a car crash three years ago that put him in a really bad place that you almost left FSU and permanently moved back with your dad in New York, and you also have a deep annoyance of… well, me." He looked down shyly at that last part. "Although, that isn't really something new to anyone around here."

She was shocked at how much Jace knew, and she blushed at the fact that he even knew about her tattoos, but she chose to focus on the one thing she could think of a reply to. "You kind of brought the annoyance on yourself."

"So, I've been told. How about we start over at the party on Saturday?"

Clary raised her eyebrows. "Start over?"

"I'll pick you up on Saturday at 9:30, and we'll be the new Jace and Clary. No one in the houses wants to see us bicker all night anyway, so we might as well get along."

"Did Alec talk to you?"

He chuckled and nodded his head. "Maybe."

Clary bit her lip, not sure what he was up to. But she nodded. "Fine, now can I get back to sketch now?"

He shrugged. "Sure." But when he didn't get up, he got a dirty look that he was confused by. "What? You want me to leave?"

"That would be nice."

He sighed, standing and grabbing his bag. "And here I thought we were making progress."

* * *

Clary twirled in front of the mirror, staring at the bright green dress that flowed down to her knees. Her hair was up in the back, allowing some to slow down around her shoulders. She sighed, cocking her head to the side.

Isabelle and Simon were on the bed, watching the redhead's internal battle. "Stop overthinking everything," Isabelle demanded.

"I can't."

"Why?" Simon asked. "It's just a short party."

"Four hours is short?"

Isabelle stood and draped an arm over Clary, looking at her in the mirror. "Listen. You're going to go to the party with Jace. You're going to spend time with him. You're going to be drunk while doing it. And you're going to have fun. Got it?"

The doorbell rang of the sorority house at that moment, and they all looked at each other. It had been ringing constantly for the past thirty minutes as dates were picking up their girls, and Clary's date was last. Naturally.

She sighed before moving downstairs, slowly pulling the door open to find Jace with one hand in his pocket, another with a rose held up to his face, a small smile on his lips, and dressed in a button down with black slacks that fit him way too well.

Clary leaned against the door, staring at the rose. "That for me?"

"Maybe." He slowly handed it to her but pulled it back at the last second. "Are you going to throw it on the floor and stomp on it aggressively to prove that you hate me?"

Clary rolled her eyes. "No."

"Then this is for you."

"Thanks."

"So," he put his hands in his pocket while Clary fiddled with the rose. "You want to go?"

"Let me put this up first," she said, stepping into the kitchen. She got a vase out, dropped the rose into it, and turned to find a silent Jace staring at her with a distant look in his eyes. She frowned. "What?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. You just… you look really beautiful."

"Funny," she said, walking towards him. "Now let's just get this over with."

The walk over there was quiet between them. Jace kept trying to talk to her, but Clary was cutting him off or leaving him with short answers that he was obviously getting frustrated with. But Clary didn't care. She had one last semester to deal with him before graduation, she just had to get through one party. Just one.

They finally made it, the sounds of the music can be heard from the road. They got their stamps from Jace's fraternity brother on their hands, and they made it inside. People were dancing on pool tables, walking around with drinks left and right, a few couples were making out in random corners of every room, and Clary just wanted to get away from Jace.

Jace grabbed Clary's hand and pulled her towards the bar, where Bat was working the drinks. He looked up as the two approached and smiled. "Jace! Get what you want, man. You're welcome to it."

Jace leaned down to Clary's ear. "What would you like?"

"Anything strong."

He nodded before hopping over the counter gracefully, causing Clary's eyes to actually widen in surprise. He joked around with Bat, tossing bottles and cups back and forth cleverly and earning a few cheers from people how started to watch. Jace's lips turned up in a smile when he met Clary's eyes, giving her a wink, tossing a lime up and catching it in a very classy red solo cup behind his back. He slid it across to Clary, and leaned over the counter.

"Try it."

Clary did as he said and took a sip. It was strong, but it was delicious. "Not bad."

He perked up. "Really?"

"Since when are you a bartender?"

"At all the parties, Bat and I normally hit on the girls that ask for all the drinks. It's a way to meet people."

Clary rolled her eyes. "So it's just a way to get into girl's pants?"

"No," he insisted. "We meet people, but I don't just sleep with people."

"It's true," Bat said as he leaned over into the conversation. "He flirts a lot, but fun fact, Jace hasn't had sex in 6 months."

Clary laughed as Jace reached over and punched Bat's shoulder. "Bit of a dry spell?"

He blushed slightly, and Clary's eyes were drawn to it as it happened. "I've been… busy."

"Busy?"

Bat laughed. "Busy my ass. You just drool over–"

"You want to go outside?" Jace hopped over the counter quickly again before grabbing Clary's hand, not giving her a chance to answer whether or not she actually wanted to go. But, alas, they made their way outside where the music was quieter and it wasn't so packed with bodies back to back.

Jace dropped her hand when they made it, leaning against the rail. "Sorry about that."

"Sorry? You mean you do know how to apologize for something? Who knew?"

He sighed. "You want me to apologize for every asshole thing I've done, then we won't be done until tomorrow morning."

"How about just one?"

He nodded, looking up at her. "Which one?"

Clary took a sip from her drink, which she regrettable thought was pretty good, before dropping up on the railing beside Jace who looked at her with surprise. "You remember freshmen year?"

"Honestly? I was drunk for quite a bit of it."

She nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips. "That makes two of us."

"We weren't the brightest freshmen."

"No, we weren't."

"But, anyway, what part were you referring to?"

She looked down now at her shoes that were kicking back and forth. "You remember what your fraternity makes the initiates do in order to get through Rush Week?"

"Unfortunately."

She shrugged one shoulder. "Well."

"Come on, Clary," he begged, turning to stand in front of her, his hands to either side of her hips against the railing. "It's not like I wanted to steal your underwear, but I didn't really have a choice. I pulled your name out of a hat."

"And you had to hang it up on the flagpole outside?"

He nodded. "Will and Jem said I had to."

"Or what?"

"Or they'd do it and announce who it was in the first place, which would've been even worse for you."

She was quiet at that for a moment before dropping her voice. "Will and Jem are assholes."

"Yes," Jace laughed. "Yes they are." He pushed back, giving a bit of space between them before shoving his hands in his pockets. "For the record, I'm sorry for all the shit that I've put your through, especially if the fraternity didn't make me do it, but a lot of the times they did."

"What about the Jell-O pool?"

"Fraternity."

"The fireworks?"

"Fraternity."

"The camera in our bathroom?"

"Fraternity."

Clary bit her lip, shaking her head. "Good lord."

He nodded. "I never really liked it. They made me pick on you when they found out about the mutual crushes we have and–"

"Had," Clary corrected. "Had, past tense. Not current."

"Right," he said. "Had. Maybe for you."

"But either way, you could've told them to fuck off."

He nodded, shrugging slightly. "But some of it made you quite the popular kid on campus."

That was true. Some stuff that happened caused Clary a ton of attention, including that from some of the guys who just wanted to piss Jace off and she eventually got to be pretty well known around campus. She hated what happened, but she couldn't help the fact that people liked her now, and she was torn about loving the attention or not.

"So," Jace said after a moment of silence. He held his hand out, giving her a small smile. "Can we forget about most of that, get hammered, dance until our feet hurt, and have a good time?"

She hesitated but eventually gave in, downing her drink before jumping off and taking Jace's hand. "Only if you make me another one of those," she said, pointing to the now empty cup.

"I'll make you as many as you want."

* * *

Clary slowly woke as someone poked her cheek once, twice. She groaned, slapping the hand away, but a chuckle just arose and the finger kept poking her cheek until she finally spoke.

"Stop," she begged.

It continued.

"Stop it," she muttered again, swatting away.

"Well then, get up."

Her eyes slowly peeked open to find sunlight, bright sunlight, and she had a slight headache but it wasn't bad. She slowly looked around at the room she didn't recognize before turning her gaze towards the person. First, the fit legs, the black Adidas shorts, the white tank top, all the way until she met the golden eyes that led the whole escapade.

He smiled down at her, proud of his victory of waking her up. "Morning."

She just moaned, grabbed a pillow, and covered her head.

Jace laughed. "Come on, Clary. I made your favorite."

"My favorite?"

"Banana pancakes, chocolate milk, black coffee, and bacon." He leaned over towards the desk as Clary slowly poked her head out from under the pillow. "See?"

The smell was delicious. It really was, and Clary's slight hangover could really use her favorite remedy. So she slowly sat up and held her hands out like a child, asking for it.

Jace shook his head. "You don't get it that easy."

"What?" she frowned.

"You have to work for food."

"I'm not a hobo."

"Come on, Clary, humor me."

She sighed and crossed her arms over the t-shirt from Jace that she wore. "Fine, what do you want?"

"I want you to be honest with me." He dropped the tray back onto the desk and moved to sit by Clary. "Did you have fun last night?"

Of course he'd ask that because he wanted her to say yes. And did she want to say yes?...

Yes.

She had fun. Sadly, she had a blast. Jace was like completely different. They danced, they talked, they joked around with Isabelle and their friends. Jace almost started a fight with Sebastian when he tried to pull Clary away, and it was just fun to see a new side to Jace that she wasn't used to. It drove her nuts at first, but as the alcohol went in, her hatred went out.

Jace was still looking at her expectantly before she finally let out an exasperated breath.

"Fine, I had fun."

"BOOM!" he jumped up, punching the air. "I KNEW IT!"

She chunked a pillow at him. "Shut up."

"Come on, admit it, I'm not that bad."

"You're still a jerk."

"But I'm not that bad."

"Whatever."

"One more thing." He came forward and squatted in front of Clary so he was looking up at her between her knees. "And it's a question."

"And then I get to eat?"

"Yes."

"What is it?"

He looked at her seriously. "Go on a date with me."

Her eyes widened. She didn't expect him to be so forward. "What makes you think I want to even think about going out with you?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure, honestly, but I still hope that you'd say yes. I sure want to go on a date with you."

Clary glanced over at the pancakes one the table. "And this will get me my breakfast?"

Jace rolled his eyes. "Yes."

"So I can say yes, get my food, and then say I'm busy this Friday and can't make it?"

"Come on," he said, almost like he was begging. "Clary, I'm on my knees here. What do I have to do?"

She smirked at that, letting a laugh out. "Well, begging looks good on you, Jace."

"I hate you."

She laughed. "Come on, no you don't."

He cocked his head to the side. "Oh, how the tides have turned."

Clary leaned forward so that they were face to face. "You'll never stop, will you?"

"After last night, no. I want more of the Clary from last night, because she was fun and hot and I'm extremely attracted to her. And I know that she is extremely attracted to me."

"Hey now."

"I know I'm an ass, but I've got a great one. You can't deny that."

Clary pushed him away as he fell to the floor with a smirk. She stood, walking over to the food and picking up a piece of bacon. "If I did go out with you," she said, taking a bite and looking like she's contemplating, "where would we go?"

He pushed himself up on his elbows, giving her a smirk. "You'll have to say yes to figure that out."

* * *

 **Keep the suggestions coming! I love them and the comments you guys are leaving are great too! I'm sorry some of them take a while but I want to give you all something worth the prompts. Love yal!**


End file.
